Jonathan Woodgate has compared Liverpool superstar Mo Salah to Tottenham ace Son Heung-min on BBC Radio 5 Live – after Salah came off the bench to score a hat-trick against Rangers, like Son did against Leicester this season.
Salah, 30, was dropped against Rangers. The first time this season, with the Egyptian starting all 12 of Liverpool’s fixtures prior to the clash at Ibrox. It comes after he was withdrawn with 20 minutes to play against Arsenal on Sunday.
The ex-Chelsea man had still scored five goals and laid on four assists in his previous 12 games, but the overall feeling is that he is far from his best. Klopp decided to bench him, like Antonio Conte did with Son prior to the Leicester clash.
But with Spurs winning 3-2, Conte brought Son on off the bench – and he netted a 13-minute hat-trick. Like Son, Salah was ruthless off the bench in Glasgow. He blasted three goals in six minutes. Woodgate compared the duo’s situations.
“When a manager leaves you out of a team, you come on and score a hat-trick. It’s exactly the same as what Son Heung-Min did for Tottenham. It’s Champions League dynamite,” Woodgate said, as per BBC Live’s coverage.
Woodgate compares Liverpool superstar Salah to Tottenham ace Son
It is very similar, and Woodgate is right to compare the two. Son had failed to score a single goal before coming on against Leicester. It revitalises, refocuses and re-energises a big-name player. They will be watching from the bench.
Thinking, I need to come on and score. Against tired legs, it installs confidence. Son has been a different player since, even getting two against Frankfurt on Wednesday night – taking his tally to five for the season. Salah, too.
Salah will have been watching, thinking; ‘I am no longer one of the first names on the team sheet’. It means, he needed to show why he deserves to be just that. He did just that. A wonderful display of finishing, and ruthlessness.
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