Everton are not the only club Salah has tormented year after year since 2017. In Liverpool’s Premier League alone, Salah has scored 49 goals and provided 22 assists in 86 appearances against the big six. Add in cup competitions and that record becomes even more impressive. Just as no player has scored more goals against Everton, no player has scored more goals for Liverpool than Salah’s 16 against Manchester United.
He will be able to build on his impressive record in the big six next month against United and Chelsea. But while Salah’s goal in front of the away end at Everton gave him another iconic moment ahead of his impending departure from Anfield, it also highlighted the issues that Arne Slott, or whoever becomes Liverpool manager next season, will have to solve.
Salah is the ultimate big game player for the Reds. He has often made the difference, whether it’s scoring goals or creating goals. But his successors in Liverpool’s attacking line – Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike – have done virtually nothing in this season’s most high-profile game.
Isaac is injured and Ekitike will be out for at least nine months. But when they take to the pitch against elite opponents, they rarely do enough. Isak’s goal away at Tottenham, assisted by Wirtz, is a rare exception.
Ekitike’s debut season on Merseyside ended with 17 goals and six assists across all competitions. He scored against Everton and Tottenham, but disappointed against the big six. Recent defeats against Manchester City in the FA Cup and against former club Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League have been particularly poor performances.
Fellow centre-forward Isak has looked noticeably undercooked and lacks sharpness since returning from a broken foot. And even if he scores against United and Chelsea, he still has a lot of work to do next year to fill that void.
The problem is, Isaac can’t do it alone. He has shown so far this season that he needs the services of his teammates. Unlike Salah, who can create his own chances, or at least was able to do so before this season, Isak needs to be in a functioning team and that is exactly what Liverpool have not been able to do this season.
Who knows if they’ll be like that again next year? They also need a busy summer, considering they need to insert multiple new players straight into the starting eleven. Without Salah to rely on in the biggest games, they certainly need the £241m duo of Isak and Werts to step up next year.
Isaac was an unknown at Everton. He had nine touches in 73 minutes. Rio Ngumoja, who replaced him, had as many players as his substitutes. Wirtz only made a brief impression, making just a few great passes, many of which were peripherals or just muscle.
Of course, it was a great day for Liverpool, thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s header 11 minutes into added time. This is a huge result as we aim to finish in the top five and qualify for the all-important Champions League. But their first win at Hill-Dickinson Stadium should also serve as a warning for the future. With Salah gone, they really need their other attackers to step up in big games.
