[ad_pod ]

Mohamed Salah scored his 50^th goal for Liverpool as the Reds beat Southampton 3-1 to move back to the top of the Premier League.

The Egypt international ended a run of six games without a goal with his superb strike versus Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men but his goal masked one of his poorest performances in recent weeks.

On the chalkboard

Per WhoScored, Salah had just two shots on goal throughout the game and was dispossessed a total of six times.

One could suggest that the latter tally came about as a result of a number of dribbles but the opposite is true; Salah did not even attempt one.

In total, the forward touched the ball 47 times and attempted 30 passes but only 20 were accurate.

He did complete two key passes but he was outmuscled in the air, winning just one of three aerial duels, while he failed to complete a tackle or an interception.

Salah may well have contributed a vital goal after a superb solo run but statistically, this was a remarkably flat performance from the 26-year-old.

Proof of world-class credentials

It is often said that most world-class players can go 89 minutes without contributing anything of note, only to win the game in the other one.

That was particularly true of Salah on Friday.

All in all, he did not really affect the match until his game-changing intervention.

It could well have gone wrong. He collected the ball on the edge of his own box and sprinted almost the length of the pitch before smashing the ball past Angus Gunn.

In recent weeks, he has missed chances like that.

With Liverpool chasing the Premier League title, perhaps it was fate that this time it hit the back of the net.

It certainly bodes well as the run-in approaches.