1 year ago
304 Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that it was impossible to leave Mo Salah out of his team of the week after his performance for Liverpool in their demolition of Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.
The Reds looked much more like their old selves against Erik ten Hag’s side. They were absolutely rampant in the second-half, scoring six times on their way to a 7-0 win.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Deciding the man of the match was about as difficult as it gets. But ultimately, it was Salah who got the nod after scoring twice and looking a lot more like the player who became one of the world’s very best a few years ago.
Crooks amazed by Salah display in Liverpool rout
Certainly, Sunday’s game is probably going to be looked back upon as a defining moment for the trio of Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez. The pair shared six goals between them. And Manchester United were simply unable to live with the three players at times.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Crooks was blown away by Salah’s performance, as he named the 30-year-old in his team of the week.
“It’s been a long time since Salah made my team but after his performance against Manchester United it was impossible to leave him out. It was as though he suddenly rolled back the years,” he told BBC Sport.
“To become Liverpool’s leading Premier League scorer is a nice record to have but I’m not entirely surprised considering how much he enjoys scoring goals.”
Salah’s record this season is still outstanding. If you include the Community Shield, the former Chelsea man has 22 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. In the Premier League, he has 11 goals and seven assists.
The problem, in many ways, is that he has set such high standards during his time on Merseyside. This is probably going to be only the second campaign in which Salah has not reached 20 Premier League goals for Liverpool.
But there is reason to be very, very excited. The trio with Gakpo and Nunez is still a work in progress. But Sunday showed that they are going to be simply devastating when it all clicks.
The post 'It's been a long time': Crooks says leaving one Liverpool player out his TOTW was actually impossible appeared first on The Boot Room.
