Liverpool eviscerated Watford at Vicarage Road in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, winning 5-0.
It was Claudio Ranieri’s first game in charge of Watford and he was unfortunate to run into a rampant Liverpool side.
Sadio Mane – assisted by Mohamed Salah – opened the scoring for the visitors before Roberto Firmino struck either side of half-time to put the Merseysiders out of sight inside the hour.
Firmino then turned creator to assist Salah in the 54th minute, before completing his hat-trick in injury time.
While Firmino was pivotal in the victory, it was Salah that generated quite a buzz on the final whistle.
My, my. Mo has morphed into Messi.
— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) October 16, 2021
The Egyptian is in flying form this season, with Gary Lineker and several other observers seeing fit to compare him to a certain Lionel Messi.
Salah has scored six goals and contributed three assists in the Premier League so far this season, to go with three goals in two Champions League appearances.
Aside from the numbers, it’s the manner of his play that’s really setting tongues wagging.
Like Karim Benzema, the Egyptian is on a different level to everybody else right now. With his future still not entirely clear – contract negotiations are ongoing but not exactly progressing smoothly – it’s an ideal time to be at the top of one’s game.
STOP THAT, MO SALAH! 🇪🇬👑
The footwork is magical, the finish is sublime.
He had the Watford defence on strings! 😱 pic.twitter.com/tBWPWWOxeX
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 16, 2021
“I don’t think he’ll stay at Anfield for the rest of his career,” Sky Sports pundit and Manchester United icon Gary Neville said of Salah in comments carried by Marca. “It’s my personal opinion and it’s always been my opinion, although it could be wrong.
“The Premier League would be weaker if he left. I just think that when you look at someone like Cristiano [Ronaldo], David Beckham, Kylian Mbappe, not everything is for the money.
“There’s a project, there’s something they want to achieve with their lives. They have to go and play at certain clubs, they have to go and experience certain things.
“I think Salah has to experience Real Madrid, the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid are going to come back, by the way. I know Barcelona aren’t great at the moment.
“I think that he has to have that on his CV at the end of his career. He’s done an incredible job at Liverpool, but I’ve always felt that he wants a Paris Saint-Germain, a Madrid, a Barcelona, and I think he’ll go looking for it. But I could be wrong.”
