Mohamed Salah’s stoppage-time goal in Liverpool’s 5-1 defeat of Toulouse on Thursday night not only saw him overtake Arsenal icon Thierry Henry as the Englishman’s top scorer in European competitions major, but restored his dominant lead. Red goals table. Darwin Nunes scored the first goal in the first half, but Salah quickly scored as soon as he came off the bench. The Egyptian has scored nine goals in his first 12 games this season, four times as many as his nearest rivals Nunes and Diogo Lotta. He wants to become Liverpool’s top scorer for the seventh consecutive season. That means he will be hoping to become Liverpool’s top scorer in every season since joining, aiming to match Michael Owen’s recent tally between 1997/98 and 2003/04.
Of those who succeeded where Mane “failed”, the only one who stands out is Núñez. The Uruguayan comfortably leads Liverpool (4.74) in shots per 90 minutes, with Jota (3.33), Cody Gakpo (3.06) and indeed Salah (3.02) right behind. Moreover, he is the only player to come close to the expected goals per 90 minutes (0.73 compared to Salah’s 0.77). Next is Gakpo (0.56) and Jota (0.37) is in 4th place. Núñez’s expected goals without penalty kicks is almost twice Salah’s average (0.73 vs. 0.38), but realistically penalties are a big part of this discussion. As a first choice, e-novels have significant advantages.
This, along with the steady improvement in his finishing ability, gives Salah a winning formula. He has to be 100% fit for that and that’s the standard set for him, but a real fight could be good for Liverpool. Salah is so obsessed with personal bests that he’s sure to rise to the occasion when he meets a true challenger, and Nunes has what it takes to be that person.
