Mohamed Salah has been labelled 'the most frustrating player in the Premier League' by former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol. 

Salah joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017, taking the Premier League by storm in his maiden season for the Reds, bagging 32 times in just 36 appearances. 

A further 11 goals in his 15 European appearances that year - and a single goal in the FA Cup - saw him register 44 times in total in his 52 appearances, a level of performance he has struggled to replicate in the following two seasons. 

Whilst most fans of manager Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool would still argue the Egyptian is performing at an incredibly high level - he has scored 20 times this season in 40 appearances, including 16 in the league - there are those who feel both he and his teammates have struggled at times. 

Fellow member of Liverpool's fearsome front three, Roberto Firmino, has scored just eight times in the league this season, despite his side's record breaking performances. 

Now, four-time title winner Steve Nicol - who made over 300 appearances for Liverpool in the 1980's and 1990's - has shared why he feels such players can escape criticism that might normally be levelled against others. 

"Winning is the deodorant of the game, it covers all bad smells, winning covers a lot of bad things." Nicol told ESPN when quizzed on the matter.

"You can say it with Salah. Salah's form this season, is there a guy who frustrates you more in the Premier League or anywhere else with the things he does in a game?.

"Then all of a sudden he will produce something. So you could say the same about him as well, but again, he plays every game. And why? Because they win".

Despite the criticism he has sometimes faced this year, Salah's record breaking streak has continued, with the dynamic attacker becoming the first payer in Liverpool's history to score 70 goals in his first 100 appearances for the club.

Indeed, in Premier League history, there has only ever been one player to score more goals in their first century of appearances for a single club - a certain Alan Shearer, who score 79 goals for Blackburn Rovers.