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Liverpool has easy Mohamed Salah decision after Wolves performance

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)


Mohamed Salah was far from at his best against Wolves but he was still the Liverpool match-winner from the penalty spot. Rayan Ait-Nouri, who netted the equalizer after Ibrahima Konate's error, barely gave him an inch.

Even on an off day for Salah, though, he still ended up being the man to make the difference. And it wasn't just in an attacking sense, either: while he did do well to keep cool from 12 yards, Salah also put in a shift going the other way.

"Mo was many times in the box and heading balls away and stuff," Virgil van Dijk told reporters including from Liverpool.com post-match. "That is the kind of commitment we need from everyone."

Arne Slot was right with Liverpool warning and sorry Man Utd just proved it 'I only left Everton this summer but I love Arne Slot and would consider signing for Liverpool'

Salah is now on four goals and four assists in the Premier League this season — a very impressive eight goal contributions in six appearances. Only Erling Haaland (10), Cole Palmer (six), and Luis Diaz and Bryan Mbeumo (both five) have scored more than he has and only Bukayo Saka has laid on a teammate more often.

Liverpool's No. 11 is either scoring a goal or providing an assist every 66 minutes on the field in the top flight so far in 2024/25 and Salah remains the Reds' most important and influential attacker. When his side needs him, he usually finds a way to step up.

While Salah has lost the electric pace that he once had, he is still proving to be devastatingly effective. This is comfortably Diaz's best period as a Liverpool player, as a comparison, and yet he has six goal contributions (five goals and one assist) to Salah's eight. In the Premier League as a whole, only Haaland and Palmer have more goals and assists combined than the Egyptian does at this point.

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the winner during the Premier League match at Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 28 2024
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the winner during the Premier League match at Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 28 2024 -Credit:John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

For someone who is so consistent in terms of his numbers, Salah doesn't get the credit he deserves. Diaz and Cody Gakpo have both been given more plaudits this year, for instance, but neither is as crucial to Liverpool as Salah is.

That is reflected in the number of minutes that he has played so far under Arne Slot too. The Dutch coach has named 13 players in every matchday squad in all competitions so far, with Salah being one of them.

But the forward has spent more minutes on the pitch than anyone else. Salah is on 654 minutes with Alexis Mac Allister (632) and Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch (both 630) closest to him.

It's been said before and it will be said plenty of times again: a contract extension is simply a must. For Liverpool, Salah still remains absolutely central.