During Barcelona’s 2014-15 campaign, Lionel Messi both scored and assisted in 11 different games. Mohamed Salah has already done it 10 times in this season’s Premier League – and we’ve not even reached the end of February.
It should also be pointed out that Liverpool’s Egyptian King isn’t playing alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar every week; he finished Wednesday’s game against Aston Villa with Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz for company in attack. In that sense, what Salah is doing this season is truly extraordinary. The man is posting Messi-like numbers that would normally make a player a shoo-in for both team trophies and individual honours.
Messi, remember, was presented with the Ballon d’Or after inspiring Barca to the treble in 2015. However, there’s a real risk that Salah’s astounding performances won’t get their just reward, with Liverpool looking more than a little shaky as the business end of the season approaches…