Like most of his teammates, Mo Salah was worryingly quiet during the first half for Liverpool against Newcastle tonight, but we’ve come to learn that the Egyptian is rarely subdued for too long!
The 32-year-old was on the periphery in the opening 45 minutes to such an extent that Sky Sports reporter Lewis Jones said at half-time that he ‘hasn’t been involved’ at St James’ Park.
However, it didn’t take too long after the interval for our number 11 to show that, even when he seems to be on the fringes, he still pops up with a decisive moment of quality.
Salah produces sublime assist for Jones equaliser
Five minutes into the second half, Salah got on the end of a diagonal pass from Alexis Mac Allister and carried the ball to the edge of the penalty area, with Lewis Hall in close attendance.
However, the Egyptian King still had enough space to play a sublime pass with the outside of his left boot into the path of the onrushing Curtis Jones, who crashed a first-time shot into the roof of Nick Pope’s net to draw Liverpool level.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, Pat Nevin gushed: “That’s the effect Mohamed Salah can have and that effect is stunning. It’s a great finish from Curtis Jones, but that is a great ball from Salah. The pass was millimetre perfect into Jones’ run.”
Mo Salah produced a sensational assist for Curtis Jones to equalise against Newcastle
(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Salah’s output is simply incredible
Remarkably, that took Salah to 25 goal contributions already this season in his 21st game for Liverpool, and he later netted his 14th goal of the campaign when netting his team’s second equaliser of the night midway through the second half after Anthony Gordon had restored Newcastle’s lead.
It’s an incredible output which shows why Reds fans are desperate for the club to offer him a new contract, something that David Ornstein today hinted might be forthcoming from the Anfield hierarchy soon.
Even the quality of the pass for Jones’ strike illustrated a technique that few players in world football can boast, and quite simply it’d be criminal for the 32-year-old to slip away from Merseyside on a free transfer next year if an agreement on his contractual situation can’t be reached.
You can view Salah’s assist for Jones below, via @primevideosport on X:
Salah's pass, Jones' finish 😮💨
Liverpool equalise in sublime fashion#PLonPrime #NEWLIV pic.twitter.com/rbzcUcIxaQ
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 4, 2024