MY ACCOUNT
Mohamed Salah is beginning to believe Liverpool can win an unprecedented quadruple and has told team-mates to “enjoy it and go for everything”.
Speculation over his Anfield future is adding a soap opera element to Liverpool’s push for titles on all fronts, as it remains to be seen whether the Egyptian signs a new contract.
That is a distraction Liverpool and Salah are trying to push aside for the moment, with an intense schedule of games meaning there is scant time to deal with such matters.
Salah will be the player Liverpool look to again on Sunday when Jurgen Klopp’s team tackle Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in a game that is being dubbed, rather preemptively, as a title decider.
Liverpool trail City by one point and both will have seven matches remaining after Sunday, with City not having to face any side currently in the top five across those remaining games.
It makes it perhaps imperative that Liverpool do win in Manchester, and Salah said: “We know how to play big games. Hopefully we will win the next game but if you ask me about advantage, they have more of an advantage because they are a point ahead and are at home.
“The most important thing for us is not to lose the game, but if we lose the gap is going to be bigger.”
Salah is the Premier League’s top scorer with 20 goals, albeit he has not netted from open play in his last eight games for Liverpool.
He has not quite maximised the chances that have come his way this season, given his expected goals (xG) total of 21.7 exceeds the number of times he has found the net. Last season he scored 22 Premier League goals from an xG total of 19.3.
Team-mates Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane have 14 and 12 Premier League goals respectively this term, with Liverpool the competition’s highest scorers with 77 goals from 30 games.
Salah has scored in four of his previous five Premier League games against City, including each of his last three in a row, but Liverpool are winless in their past four against Pep Guardiola’s side in the competition (D2 L2).
This time they believe it can be different. Liverpool have won each of their last 10 Premier League games, keeping eight clean sheets in this run, and with the EFL Cup already secured, Klopp’s team are closing in on glory in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
City are their FA Cup semi-final opponents, and the teams could even meet in the Champions League final.
Salah senses the chance to make trophy history, saying: “We wish we can do four. We’ve never done four before. This season we are really close and we are in top form.
“We’ve won the last 10 games in the Premier League so we are in a good way, and hopefully we can win the next game.
“We look at this situation now and we just have to enjoy it. We can’t be in this situation and feel pressure. We just have to enjoy it and go for everything.”
Klopp’s team are 3-1 up in their Champions League quarter-final against Benfica, ahead of the second leg on Wednesday, as the big games keep coming.
“Our programme is insane,” said the Reds manager. “We play City, Benfica, City, [Manchester] United and Everton. They all will hope if we win one of the City games we will celebrate for three or four days, but we will not.”
