Mohamed Salah’s debut season at Liverpool has been nothing short of remarkable.
The Egyptian arrived at Anfield with an air of uncertainty following his disappointing spell at Chelsea but he’s made the Blues look like fools for failing to give him a chance this campaign.
Salah is currently locked in a battle with Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero to win the Premier League Golden Boot award and has found the net 31 times in all competitions.
No wonder the plaudits have poured in.
“There’s no step-overs, there’s no trying to nutmeg, there’s no skills for no reason,” Arsenal legend Thierry Henry recently told Sky Sports.
“He’s going at you, if you’re ready or not that’s your problem.”
Salah faced Gareth Bale in 2013
It was at Basel where Salah began to earn recognition and a meeting against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League five years ago allowed English clubs to see what he was all about.
Gareth Bale had the unenviable task of following Salah when the sides met at White Hart Lane in 2013, and football fans may have forgotten that the Egyptian attempted to humiliate Bale that night.
Displaying some fancy footwork, Salah tried to turn Bale inside out.
The Welshman, to his credit, stood his ground and refused to surrender the same fate that has befallen many Premier League defenders this season.
Check out their battle below.
Watch: Bale vs Salah in 2013
Basel prevailed
Tottenham and Basel played out a thrilling Europa League quarter-final tie in 2013.
The first leg, played in north London, ended 2-2 after Spurs, then managed by Andre Villas-Boas, fought back from 2-0 down.
The return fixture also finished 2-2, Clint Dempsey equalised in the 82nd minute, but Tottenham crashed out when Tom Huddlestone and Emmanuel Adebayor missed from 12 yards in a penalty shootout.
It was to be Bale’s final season at Tottenham, while Salah lasted just a few months at Basel in the 2013-14 season before signing for Chelsea.
Why did Salah flop at Chelsea?
Much has been made about the Egypt international’s brief Chelsea career - he made 19 appearances for the club in total, spending time on loan at Fiorentina and Roma before sealing a permanent move to the Stadio Olimpico in 2016 - but Frank Lampard thinks he knows why it didn’t work out for the player in west London.
“It was huge move at that stage of his career maybe it was a bit early a club like Chelsea,” Lampard told BT Sport last year.
“It wasn’t easy and he was up against the likes of [Eden] Hazard, Oscar and [Juan] Mata was around there in his early days.
“So it was tough for him to come in then and he probably wasn’t quite ready for it.”