Ferdinand sings praises of ‘fantastic’ Liverpool star, as Crouch makes comparison with two Anfield legends
Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool
Pundits Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch have heaped praise on Liverpool forward Mo Salah, who scored both goals as Jurgen Klopp’s side overcame rivals Everton 2-0 on Saturday.
The clash at Anfield was a frustrating one at times for Liverpool, as even though Ashley Young had been sent off for the visitors, the Reds struggled to break down their strong backline. Salah was given the opportunity to break the deadlock in the 75th minute, as he stepped up to take a penalty after Luis Diaz’s cross had hit Michael Keane on the arm.
The Egyptian winger made no mistake, smashing into the net as Jordan Pickford was left with no chance.
And Salah rounded off the victory for Liverpool by scoring their second goal deep into injury time. He finished first time on his left foot after Darwin Nunez had done most of the hard work, having caught Everton on the break.
Liverpool were perhaps lucky not to join Everton in going down to 10 men, as defender Ibrahima Konate tripped Beto and prevented a counter attack even though he was already on a yellow.
Despite that, and the lacklustre performance from Liverpool, the win keeps them right towards the top of the Premier League table, up there with the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal.
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Before the Merseyside derby, Ferdinand lauded Salah by naming him as one of a select few ‘elite’ players England has ever seen. Crouch, meanwhile, put him up there with Anfield heroes Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler – and Salah delivered by scoring the only two goals of the match.
“He’s one of the best goalscorers the Premier League has ever seen,” Ferdinand said during an appearance on TNT Sports, formerly BT Sport.
Mo Salah success down to ‘self-belief’ – Rio Ferdinand
“I put him that highly; I think he’s a fantastic player and got that self-belief which separates him from the normal players.
“The consistency that he’s played at such a high level puts him in that elite bar of players that we’ve seen in the Premier League. Liverpool need to try and keep him for as long as they can if they want to remain successful.”
Crouch added: “He’s a machine and looks like he’s going to score in every game.
“With the stats, he scores or assists in almost every game. He’s so efficient and he’s one of the greats that have come before him like Fowler and Gerrard in the Premier League.
“He’s incredible and is unstoppable at times. You do have to double up and if he’s one-on-one against anyone in the world, he beats them.”
The brace against Everton takes Salah’s tally for the campaign to eight goals and four assists in just 11 appearances.
The 31-year-old will be hoping to build on that record in Liverpool’s next game. They face French outfit Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, there has been an update on Liverpool’s huge pursuit of Napoli goal machine Victor Osimhen.
