"He was pretty invisible" - Liverpool legend slams Mohamed Salah for poor display in 3-3 draw with Aston Villa
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has hit out at Mohamed Salah following his underwhelming display against Aston Villa. Jurgen Klopp's final away game in charge of the Reds ended in a 3-3 stalemate at Villa Park despite his side leading 3-1 until the 85th minute.
The Merseyside giants went 1-0 ahead thanks to a howler by Emiliano Martinez as he guided the ball into his net in the second minute. Your Tielemans levelled the game soon but Liverpool went 3-1 ahead in 48 minutes with Cody Gakpo and Jarell Quansah finding the back of the net.
Jurgen Klopp's side, however, failed to see the game off as substitute Jhon Duran bagged a brace late in the game. Following the match, Steve Nicol criticized Mohamed Salah for yet another poor game by his usual standards.
Nicol insisted that Salah was invisible for the majority of the game but reminded the fans how good he has been over the years for the Merseyside club. The former Liverpool full-back said, as quoted by HITC Sport:
“Kind of typical of his recent performances. No, (it’s not a compliment). He was pretty invisible. It’s just unfortunate that right now we are looking at him in a light that, considering how great for how long he’s been, maybe it’s a little unfair. It kind of goes along with the rhetoric of the end of the season that has been really poor from Liverpool."
Nicol added:
“So, it’s very difficult to be positive, particularly on Salah because he hasn’t done anything recently to help Liverpool. But we shouldn’t really forget how great he has been over such a long period of time.”
Salah recently endured a dip in form but has been the most productive player for the Reds by some distance, having contributed with 25 goals and 14 assists in 42 games. The 31-year-old boasts an incredible tally of 211 goals and 89 assists in 348 appearances for the Reds to date since his reported £34 million switch from Roma in 2017.
Jamie Carragher compares Liverpool player to Cristiano Ronaldo
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has likened Jarell Quansah's aerial ability to that of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Reds youngster scored an absolutely wonderful header as the Merseyside giants drew 3-3 against Aston Villa on Monday, May 13.
Carragher hailed the 21-year-old for his outstanding aerial ability and compared him to Ronaldo, who is regarded as one of the best players in the world in terms of heading the ball. The Sky Sports pundit said:
"This header is out of this world. He is trying to hold his run because of the offside trap but he gets up so high, he's actually ahead of the ball. His body position when the ball is in the air- he reminds me a little bit, I've seen Cristiano Ronaldo score these types of headers, you know when he gets up so early and he's almost in the air waitning for the ball."
Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for scoring the most headed goals in the history of the game. Quansah, who is in the early stages of his career, couldn't possibly get a bigger compliment than this.
Quansah has been a breakout star for Liverpool this season and has caught the eye with his composure on the ball. The defender has made 32 appearances across competitions for Jurgen Klopp's side this campaign and looks like a big thing for the future.