Gary Neville doesn’t believe that Liverpool will win the Premier League this season, but he’s still been left in awe at what the Reds can produce.
Arne Slot’s team end 2024 with an eight-point lead at the top of the table, signing off the year with a scintillating performance in thrashing West Ham 5-0 at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Mo Salah netted his 20th goal of the season shortly before half-time, but his most eye-catching contribution was the breathtaking assist he provided for Cody Gakpo, when our number 11 nutmegged two Irons defenders before teeing up the Dutchman to score.
That moment of brilliant left Neville swooning over the skill from the 32-year-old, who’s now been talked up as a genuine Ballon d’Or contender for next year
Speaking on his eponymous podcast for Sky Sports on Monday night, the ex-Manchester United defender said of Liverpool: “I said it a couple of weeks ago, they can adapt in games. They don’t have to be playing well in games, but they’ve got a real devastating and clinical front line.
“I mean, Salah’s unbelievable, by the way. That little shuffle through the legs…oh my, that was a joke.”
Neville is far from alone in being mesmerised by the piece of trickery from the Egyptian King, even if the winger admitted that his first nutmeg on Konstantinos Mavropanos was unintentional.
Many football fans might love seeing such audacious skill moves, but ultimately a player’s output is what truly matters, and in that regard Salah is almost with equal, with 30 goal contributions in the Premier League already this season.
He’s now scored at least 20 times in each of his eight campaigns at Anfield, and that’s with half of the current term still to play. Should he avoid any lengthy absences, his 2017/18 haul of 44 goals seems well within reach this time around.
The 32-year-old is greatly appreciated by Reds fans and numerous pundits, even staunch pro-Man United figures such as Neville, but whether he’s appreciated enough by FSG to earn a new contract at Anfield is the question that we all want answered with a firm ‘yes’.
Liverpool supporters have been reliably informed that the saga isn’t likely to end imminently, but we’ll take a few more weeks of waiting so long as the outcome is that he stays on Merseyside for at least another couple of years.
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