Clinton Morrison has lauded Mohamed Salah as the best player ‘in the world’ on Sky Sports (23/02, 20:21) after the forward scored twice to help Liverpool thrash Leeds United 6-0.
Jurgen Klopp’s side ran riot at Anfield on Wednesday night to move within three-points of Premier League leaders Manchester City. The Reds also boast the better goal difference, having now scored 70 goals over their 26 fixtures to the Citizen’s haul of 63 goals so far.
Salah has contributed 19 of Liverpool’s successful attempts this season to pull seven clear in the Golden Boot race. He holds the margin to two fellow Merseyside men, with Diogo Jota (12) second and Sadio Mane (11) third. Raheem Sterling (10) has the most for City.
Salah is also the first Premier League player to hit double figures for both goals and assists this term. The Egyptian created his 10th of the campaign against Leeds when feeding Joel Matip in the 30th-minute. Only Trent Alexander-Arnold has also offered 10 assists to date.
But Salah has not only delivered for Liverpool in the Premier League, having also lit up the Champions League. The 29-year-old has hit home eight goals in seven UEFA games – only Ajax’s Sebastien Haller (11) and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (9) have hit more.
Morrison hails Salah as best ‘in the world’ after Liverpool brace
Salah’s work to help Liverpool thrash Leeds was key to setting the tone, having scored or assisted their first three. The £34m former Roma ace struck from the penalty spot after 15-minutes, fed Matip on the half-hour mark and then hit another penalty five-minutes later.
Referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot early on after Stuart Dallas blocked Andrew Robertson’s cross with his hand. He later awarded the second spot-kick after Luke Ayling upended Mane as the Africa Cup of Nations champion looked to get around Illan Meslier.
Salah’s clinical finishing from the spot stunned Morrison, who lauded the Liverpool winger who finished in seventh-place in the 2021 Ballon d’Or rankings won by PSG’s Lionel Messi.
“It’s fantastic from the best player in the world,” Morrison said.
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