Level with Rooney – Mo Salah’s incredible record against ‘big six’ with Liverpool

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Last season at Anfield? 

Mohamed Salah was, once again, decisive in the biggest English Premier League game of the weekend. The Egyptian international has routinely delivered in the most important fixtures since joining Liverpool in 2017 and it was no different in the Reds’ 2-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday.

In the captivating encounter, Salah scored from the penalty spot before providing the match-winning assist to Curtis Jones as Liverpool soared to the top of the table. The victory was Arne Slot’s tenth in 11 games as Liverpool manager with only Pep Guardiola reaching ten wins quicker than the Dutchman with a Premier League club. With seven goals and six assists already this season, Salah has been pivotal to Liverpool’s excellent start under Slot and his record against the traditional ‘big six’ – Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea – in the Premier League is outstanding

Mo Salah’s incredible record against the ‘big six’

Salah’s goal and assist against Chelsea took him to 76 goal contributions in 81 games against the ‘big six’ in the Premier League. It ranks him joint-third with Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney for most goal involvements against the ‘big six’ since the inauguration of the Premier League for the 1992/93 season – Salah took 47 less games to reach this total than Rooney. Alan Shearer ranks top with 88 goal contributions with Ryan Giggs second with 80. Salah will likely surpass Giggs by the end of the current season and he already ranks second for goals against the ‘big six’. 

As the graphic above illustrates, Salah has scored an impressive 56 goals in 81 games in these fixtures and Shearer’s record of 60 goals will be in the Egyptian’s sights. Liverpool still have eight games against the ‘big six’ remaining in the league this season, starting with Arsenal next weekend, and Salah could feasibly move ahead of Newcastle legend Shearer by the end of the season. When it comes to assists against the ‘big six’, Salah ranks 12th in the Premier League with 20. Some iconic players feature in the top ten list including Kevin de Bruyne, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Giggs – the Welshman ranks top with 55 assists in 140 games across his Manchester United career. 

Will Mo Salah stay at Liverpool next season? 

Salah faces a major decision over his Liverpool future in the next few months with his contract expiring next summer. The Egyptian turns 33 in June and there’s been strong interest from Saudi Arabian clubs in recent windows but Salah could remain at Anfield. There’s been ongoing talks over a potential new deal and Salah could surpass some legendary players in the goalscoring charts if he commits his future.  The 32-year-old moved level in ninth with Jermain Defoe in the Premier League all-time scoring list on 162 against Chelsea and he’s just 13 goals behind Thierry Henry in seventh and 15 adrift of Frank Lampard in sixth.

Salah is also just 10 goals behind Billy Liddell in fourth in Liverpool’s all-time top scorers and club legend Jamie Carragher believes the winger will have these landmarks in his sights. “He’ll have an eye on Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard by the end of this season,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “I think stats like this are one of the biggest reasons why Mo Salah will sign a new contract at Liverpool. Of course they’ll be talking about money and length of contract, but I think these are the things that really get the juices flowing for Mo Salah. He breaks all the records at Liverpool, and getting as far as he can up those lists, I think that’s a big part of his focus as a player.”