Liverpool just about got the better of Brighton yesterday to move top of the Premier League table.
It was vitally important that the Reds ended their recent hoodoo against the Seagulls to take all three points at Anfield. With Manchester City facing Arsenal later on in the day, it was a chance that they couldn’t pass up. It wasn’t perfect from Liverpool, but in the end they took their opportunity.
Alexis Mac Allister was the game’s outstanding player. Aside from the match-winning pass he played for Mohamed Salah to score, Mac Allister ran the show and earned the praise he took after the final whistle.
He wasn’t the only Liverpool player to impress, though. Both Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai were on the receiving end of positive comments from Jurgen Klopp, while Luis Diaz was great, too.
However, it wasn’t all good from the Reds. And, as he often does, Liverpool legend Steve Nicol was there to put one player in particular in his place.
What has Steve Nicol said
Nicol is always great value on ESPN. Although quite clearly a big Liverpool fan after spending 13 years at the club, the Scotsman isn’t one to mince his words when it comes to his old team.
Fresh from warning them off hiring Julian Nagelsmann this weekend, Nicol got to work giving his analysis on yesterday’s win.
And, though he got the winning goal against Brighton, it was Salah who found himself in the 62-year-old’s crosshairs.
“He absolutely drives me insane,” smiled Nicol, after being told that the Egyptian had just hit a new personal record for shots taken in a Premier League game.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen a player who’s so good make so many errors. He just drives you crazy. There was one in the second half where [Harvey] Elliott was wide on the right, on his own. Salah tried to pass it to him, he skewed it, it hit the Brighton player on the knee, straight to Elliott. It just kind of sums him up sometimes.
“He always has shots, he always has loads of touches. Surprise surprise, who scores the wining goal. You’d put your money on him to be the match-winner every time. But you’d also put your money on him to be the forward who gives the ball away more times than any other forward. He drives me insane.”
Is Nicol right about Mohamed Salah
Obviously, there’s absolutely no doubting just how good a player Salah is. The 31-year-old is one of Liverpool’s best ever and continues to deliver.
But you also can’t help but agree with Nicol here. Mo was dreadful at times against Brighton. It really shouldn’t be taking him 12 shots to score.
It wasn’t just his shooting that left a bit to be desired either. As per Fotmob, Salah came out with a pass completion rate of just 78%. He couldn’t seem to find his teammates often enough.
Still, as Nicol also points out, it felt inevitable that the £34m man would be the one to come up with the winning goal. Sometimes you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. Thankfully, with Salah, there’s much more smooth than rough.