Mo Salah scored one goal in his first six appearances against Man United, before his relentless drive to be the best steered him to 15 in his final 12 for Liverpool.
The following piece is a shortened extract from Melissa Reddy’s new book, Only Mo Salah: An Intimate Portrait of the Egyptian King.
Mohamed Salah had his second Golden Boot locked in both palms when his acknowledgement to the Anfield crowd was briefly interrupted. Makka’s innocent curiosity broke his focus, drawing him down to her level to answer a query.
Salah shared a photograph of the tender father–daughter moment on 12 May 2019, with a summary of their conversation across his platforms.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 13, 2018: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah waves to the supporters after receiving the Golden Boot trophy for finishing the season as the leading League goal-scorer during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 13, 2018: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah waves to the supporters after receiving the Golden Boot trophy for finishing the season as the leading League goal-scorer during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
‘Yes, I know we have one at home,’ it read. ‘This is a new one.’ It was the ice-cold truth, but also a beautiful and brutal retort to the critics who had spent long months suggesting he was a one-season wonder.
Salah, the Premier League’s top scorer again following his historic debut campaign, would make it even clearer that he was responding to detractors. With the trophy in his right hand, he lifted two fingers up next to it with his left, wearing a cheeky smile that housed his tongue sticking out in their direction.
James Milner, who spent six years alongside Salah for Liverpool, would identify this as one of the attributes that made him such a fierce competitor: ‘playing like he had a chip on his shoulder.’
There was always a point he needed to prove and even after establishing himself in the game’s topmost bracket, it would intrigue the dressing room just how aware Salah was of the fault-finding in his game and his compulsion to eradicate any asterisks.
There was a prominent example. He had insanely scored 54 league goals over two seasons, but none of them were against Manchester United. It had become a popular topic for interviewers and Salah was sick of it.
Ahead of 2019–20, he requested extra footage and analysis zooming in on his showings against Liverpool’s great rivals. He wanted to understand where the flaws were: was it a matter of positioning, timing or the movement he was making.
On 19 January 2020, Salah would pierce United for the first time with a goal he lists among his favourite and most important, alongside the injury-time penalty in 2017 which ended Egypt’s near three-decade wait to return to a World Cup.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, January 19, 2020: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring the second goal with team-mate goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, January 19, 2020: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring the second goal with team-mate goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Salah’s assured strike past De Gea after collecting Alisson’s pinpoint clearance and rinsing Dan James in a 40-yard sprint, meanwhile, made Liverpool’s first title in 30 years feel inevitable. They pulled 16 points clear of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand as ‘We’re going to win the league’ chorused around Anfield.
It was certainly worth the wait. However, the reward for hours of extra analysis did not materialise in that glorious scene. It was initially located in his second and third goals against United, which came in a 3-2 FA Cup fourth-round defeat the following January. Luke Shaw had been quite effective in nullifying Salah until then and he was determined to change that.
Liverpool’s top scorer sat with Mark Leyland, who was head of post-match and elite player development analysis, to work on a solution. When Shaw could see Salah on the outside and in front of him, United’s left-back was effective at timing his defensive actions to destroy the Egyptian’s threat.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, January 24, 2021: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the first goal during the FA Cup 4th Round match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, January 24, 2021: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the first goal during the FA Cup 4th Round match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
He found it much more taxing when Salah was inside him, operating in the half-spaces or running in behind from either outside or inside positions. The forward digested the information and returned with a tactics board to visualise what his movement should be.
At Old Trafford that Sunday evening, Salah’s first goal came from being stationed inside Shaw, and running in behind him to finish Firmino’s incisive throughball. His second was from the same supplier, aided by a Milner dummy, and was also a result from manoeuvring inside Shaw. The fullback was then shredded again, this time with Salah starting outside him and running at an angle inside, only to be denied by goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
It had finally clicked, quite unfortunately for United.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Sunday, September 1, 2024: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the third goal during the FA Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. Liverpool won 3-0. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Sunday, September 1, 2024: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the third goal during the FA Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. Liverpool won 3-0. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
After two seasons of blanks, no team were ceremonially tormented more by Salah. His 16 goals against United is his highest tally against any opponent, which included becoming the first player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Old Trafford ; a feat achieved during a 5-0 punishment in October 2021.
No player in history has besieged United more and in such few appearances. It took Salah just 18 outings to become their chief slayer, with Alan Shearer the next closest on 10 league goals in 25 runouts. Thierry Henry and Steven Gerrard, for context, managed just 9 in all competitions.
To frame the dominance in a different way: including United players, he is the eighth highest scorer at Old Trafford in the 2020s. This vignette sits in a stacked catalogue to showcase Salah’s devotion to betterment and spotlights why Klopp has repeatedly stated: ‘I’ve never seen anyone like him.’
You can purchase a copy of Melissa Reddy’s new book, Only Mo Salah: An Intimate Portrait of the Egyptian King here.
Football – FA Premier League – Liverpool FC v Tottenham Hotspur FC
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 15, 2026: Liverpool's Arne Slot before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Paris, France. 17th May, 2026. Ibrahim Mbaye on the final day of the McDonald’s Ligue 1 season at the Stade Jean Bouin between PSG and Paris FC, on 17 May 2026 – 17/05/2026 – France/Ile-de-France (region)/Paris – Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium Credit: LE PICT
Paris, France. 17th May, 2026. Ibrahim Mbaye on the final day of the McDonald’s Ligue 1 season at the Stade Jean Bouin between PSG and Paris FC, on 17 May 2026 – 17/05/2026 – France/Ile-de-France (region)/Paris – Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium Credit: LE PICT