When Mohamed Salah was asked which Liverpool player you should sign for your Premier League Fantasy Football team this season, the Egyptian named himself.“This season for Fantasy Premier League, sign me. Because I get the most points every year, so it’s easy," he replied.Everyone that listened to Salah will be feeling pretty pleased with themselves right now as the Liverpool star scored a hat-trick during their 4-3 opening day victory over Leeds.Salah put Liverpool 1-0 ahead with a penalty before a thumping finish made it 3-2 before half-time. He then had the coolness to stick away an 88th-minute penalty to hand the champions at 4-3 victory.Three goals and three points for Salah.
Not a bad start to the season then.
And not bad for a one-season wonder.
That’s what many rival fans were dubbing him after he notched 44 goals during his debut campaign at Anfield. But after 27 goals during the 2018/19 season and a further 24 last season, Salah can now be considered a four-season wonder at Liverpool.
In 154 matches, he’s now scored 97 goals and produced 41 assists.
Astonishing.
Despite that he still doesn’t quite get the credit he deserves, does he?
It was something that Jamie Carragher suggested towards the end of last season. He believes that Salah is underappreciated - even by Liverpool fans.
"I think he is under-appreciated and he can frustrate you as a player and I will show you clips why. It is also the reason why he is so good," Carragher said.
"When we think of Mo Salah receiving the ball, he is not a winger, he is a wide-forward, but he does play so narrow. I see Salah constantly marked when he receives the ball. He almost marks himself in some ways.
"He is not as strong as [Sadio] Mane, he is probably not as clever with the ball as [Roberto] Firmino when the ball comes into them, because they all play very narrow.
"So he does lose the ball a lot in situations like this. So when you're watching a game, with free-play between the boxes, if you like, at times it can be a frustration watching Salah.
"There is also no doubt that there is a selfish side to his game, we saw that come out with the reaction of [Sadio] Mane [as shown in the clip by Sky Sports] earlier in the season and there now.
"When Mo Salah is in that position, all he is thinking about is that [shoot]. The first thing that he thinks of when he gets the ball is 'can I score or set someone up?' But his first thought is 'score.'
"At times that is a frustration, but I then go this is why it is a success of him.
"I played with wide players at Liverpool who never scored a goal. They would go through a season and score one goal because they were obsessed with getting chalk on their boots. Get wide and get side-on."