Thierry Henry has been singing the praises of one ‘outstanding’ Liverpool player who’s currently doing something ‘legendary’ at Anfield.
Two days after signing a contract extension on Merseyside, Mo Salah provided the assist for Luis Diaz’s opening goal against West Ham with a moment of ‘absolute perfection‘, in the words of Jamie Carragher.
It was his 18th in the top flight this season to go along with his 27 goals, and it saw him take the outright record for most goal contributions in a single 38-match Premier League campaign (45), having held it jointly with Erling Haaland and the aforementioned Arsenal legend.
Henry praises ‘legendary’ Salah
Henry was on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football yesterday evening, and he praised Liverpool’s number 11 for adapting his game while still at the peak of his powers to ensure that he can still produce record-breaking G/A figures at such a high level.
The Frenchman said of Salah: “He’s like a fine wine. I always say to people that if you look to do something, you will eventually do it, and the way he’s been playing recently…What he’s doing right now is legendary. That’s exactly what it is.”
Henry continued: “It’s just outstanding what he’s doing…the desire that he had to adapt and change his game, to be better and last, that’s very important.
“You don’t have a lot of players that want to adapt and change when they are at the top. They start to do it when they struggle and it’s too late. Do it when you’re at the top and still capable of doing what you can do. The assists were always there but now the numbers are just ridiculous.”
Salah has become a creative force as well as a goalscoring one for Liverpool
Surprisingly, Salah’s assist for Diaz on Sunday was his first goal contribution since his pair of penalties against Southampton last month, and his first from open play since the 2-0 win over Newcastle at the end of February (Transfermarkt).
Nonetheless, to break the G/A record for a 38-game Premier League season with six matches still remaining is phenomenal going, and he needs just two more assists to become just the second player to reach 20 or more goals and assists in the same campaign in this division (after Henry in 2002/03).
The Egyptian’s incredible goalscoring consistency has been apparent for years, but this year he’s truly flourished as a creator. Prior to this term, 13 was his highest tally of assists in a top-flight season for Liverpool – he’s on track to finish with 21 at his current rate, if he plays in every match up to and including the final day.
Alan Shearer joked that he’s not ‘interested’ in how many assists Salah racks up, but it’d be remiss of us to overlook how vital the 32-year-old has been in that regard over the past eight months, while also raising his scoring output to levels not seen since that extraordinary first campaign at Anfield in 2017/18.
Henry is one of the great Premier League goalscorers and players, and his praise of the Reds’ number 11 is a classic case of real recognising real!
