Tottenham Hotspur weren’t very good at Anfield, swallowing four fine Liverpool goals that have put Arne Slot’s incredible campaign into a larger spotlight.
Liverpool have reached the Carabao Cup final for the third time in four years, winning both recent contests against Chelsea. Newcastle United await, so robust in midfield, so drilled in defence.
Up front, of course, Virgil van Dijk and co will have to deal with the brilliant Alexander Isak, who Jamie Carragher has called “the best striker in the Premier League”.
However, Liverpool have a world-class talisman of their own in Mohamed Salah, who will strike fear into the opposition’s hearts.
Mohamed Salah's greedy goal return
He’s relentless. Salah bagged a goal and an assist against Spurs at Anfield, swelling his haul for the campaign to an absurd 26 goals and 18 assists across 34 matches in all competitions.
Liverpool are firing on all cylinders this season, and it’s Salah who is driving Slot’s project forward, with his experience, belief, and inimitable potency breaking teams down and inspiring teammates.
Tottenham were admittedly abject this week, but it was Liverpool’s intensity, their energy, and enthusiasm, that proved too much for their opponents to handle. This isn’t the only time a team has come unstuck by Liverpool’s stylish tactics, with Salah there at the arrow-point to finish them off.
The 32-year-old is one of the great players of his generation, and while fans are enjoying the ride, there is lingering concern over his contract expiring at the end of the season, with sporting director Richard Hughes still yet to tie him down to a new deal.
Salah’s place in the Liverpool side is crucial for the retention of the current level, carrying such form over to the following campaign. He’s been a pillar of strength and a guiding light for his peers.
Cody Gakpo, for example, has benefitted immensely from the Egyptian’s brilliance.
How Slot has unlocked Cody Gakpo
Jurgen Klopp signed Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven for a £35m fee in January 2023, convinced that this young Dutch forward was destined for greatness after starring for his nation at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It hasn’t always been easy for him. Liverpool were beset by turbulence when he arrived but he has gone from strength to strength this year, his second full year on Merseyside and his first under Slot’s wing. He’s thriving.
While it’s true that Gakpo has profited greatly from Salah – the right winger has assisted Gakpo ten times for Liverpool, only assisting Bobby Firmino (14) and Sadio Mane (17) more – he’s hardly riding on the Egypt legend’s coattails, forging an exceptional Liverpool career of his own.
We all want Salah to stay, but Liverpool fans must fear not, should the unimaginable come true. Gakpo is shaping into an attacking force with a certain semblance to the current cream of the crop, with his lasting run of form in front of goal denoting a position at the top of the pecking order for many years to come.
With 16 goals and five assists across 35 matches this term, of which only 24 have come from the start, Gakpo is surfing atop the crest of a wave.
Salah is the record holder (surprise, surprise) for goals scored in straight Anfield appearances, but Gakpo is encroaching on his pal’s accolade, bearing testament to his authority on home soil.
Truly, Liverpool could have their latest version of the Egyptian king in this rangy and powerful forward, who has hit a new level now that he’s been placed on the left wing and kept there.
Gone are the days of moonlighting across so many positions, Klopp trying every which way last season to utilise Gakpo’s fluid skill set and aid Liverpool when the infirmary started to get packed.
It worked, to a degree, but the fact remains that Gakpo is now miles above that former level.
Centre-forward
27
12
3
Left winger
12
3
3
Right winger
7
1
0
Central midfield
7
0
0
Slot’s renowned for his tactical expertise, but sometimes there is beauty in simplicity, with Gakpo’s role now streamlined and cemented on the left flank, giving rise to his clinical edge and allowing for shifty inside movements into space. The proof, indeed, is in the pudding.
Liverpool correspondent Beth Lindop has hailed the Netherlands star’s “extraordinary season” for the title-chasing Reds, having now matched last term’s total – all the while putting in dynamic and influential performances away from the ball-striking side of things.
In the Premier League, he’s completed 66% of his dribbles and has won 57% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore, notching 11 goal contributions from 15 starts.
Following the Tottenham win, where he opened the scoring with a crisp finish after, obviously, Salah’s slick pass, The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle awarded the Liverpool winger with a 9/10 match rating, hailing his ‘great first-time finish’ but also praising his crossing, whipping a fierce delivery in for Darwin Nunez in the first half.
Placing four key passes and winning four duels against the sorry Lilywhites, Gakpo has established himself among Europe’s finest forwards, given his ability to make a big impact in the final third on a consistent basis.
Salah is, of course, Liverpool’s main man, and his influence in the final third is unmatched, but Gakpo’s incredible rise under Slot’s management has served to balance the attacking edge.
With Salah – along with Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold – out of contract at the end of the season, this is the perfect time for such a player to step up to the plate and prove that Liverpool have leaders who can lead the club to glory over the coming years, ensuring that the potential success on the cards this season is not just an outlier across the still-developing Slot era.
Forget Gakpo: Amazing 8/10 Liverpool star just proved Carragher wrong
Liverpool dismantled Tottenham to set up a Carabao Cup final tie against Newcastle United.
1 ByAngus Sinclair