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LONDON. — End the debate. Seriously. There isn’t one any more. Mohamed Salah is the best football player in the world right now. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have defined an era, winning Ballon d’Or after Ballon d’Or, but the Egyptian King is currently the game’s top dog We probably didn’t even need his latest masterpiece in order to reach that conclusion. We didn’t need to see him do to Watford what he did to Manchester City. Or to Porto, for that matter. Or Milan, or Norwich, or. . . you get the picture.
No, we’ve known for some time that Salah is top dog. In a world dominated for so long by the Portuguese machine and the Argentine magician, it is the Egyptian King who is, well, king.
Who could argue? Salah’s form has been special for years, but it’s truly incredible right now. He’s not just scoring, he’s assisting too. He’s working as hard as he ever has. He’s terrifying defenders, thrilling supporters with his genius. No wonder he can’t stop smiling.
“His performance was massive today,” Klopp said afterwards. “The pass for the first goal was great and the second goal was special.
“He is top. We all see it. Who is better than him? We don’t have to talk about what (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo have done for world football and their dominance. But right now, he is the best.”
The proof came here, at Vicarage Road, in a 5-0 win over Watford on Saturday.
Salah signed off for the international break with one of the most dazzling, audacious individual goals you could ever wish to see. A goal replayed the world over, one which would, in Jurgen Klopp’s words, be talked about in 60 years’ time. “Pretty good,” was Salah’s typically-humble verdict. But was this solo strike superior?
“I don’t know which one was better,” the man himself told BT Sport. “I was just in the box trying to find someone or score myself. It is all about the team. That is always the most important thing.”
And the team played pretty well. Liverpool were three up and cruising at Vicarage Road when Salah struck.
He had already, in quite sublime fashion, laid on one goal for Sadio Mane, the Senegalese’s 100th in the Premier League. Salah had also been denied a couple of times by Ben Foster and seen another effort blocked by a desperate Watford defender.
Roberto Firmino had added a second before half-time and a third after it. The Brazilian would complete his hat-trick in stoppage time. Salah, though, would steal the show.
On 54 minutes, he collected a pass from Firmino, a yard inside the penalty area and with four Watford defenders for company. But, just as he’d done to Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Co. a fortnight ago, he left Tom Cleverley, Cucho Hernandez and Juraj Kucka trailing. Too quick, too sharp.
Just like he’d done to Aymeric Laporte, he left Craig Cathcart spinning, dazed. Sliding for a ball that wasn’t there. Too good. And then, the finish. Composed, side-footed and with deadly accuracy. Far corner. Foster stood watching. So, so good. — Goal.com.
Online Reporter