Former Premier League winner and BBC pundit Chris Sutton has claimed that Mohamed Salah’s alleged diving risks costing Liverpool the title.
There was yet another diving-related incident against Crystal Palace on Saturday, the latest in what’s been a worrying trend of late for the Egyptian.
Sutton is concerned: “Every time Mohamed Salah dives, he risks costing Liverpool the Premier League title,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column. “His tumble against Crystal Palace was the second time in the last month that Salah has gone down too easily. If he keeps diving, he risks being hit with a two-game FA ban. Liverpool only need to slip up twice to put Mancester City back in the title driving seat.
“Without Salah’s firepower, would Liverpool have won the topsy-turvy game against Palace? This match proved that Klopp needs his main man available for every game. When Salah stays on his feet, he is one of the most exciting players in the Premier League. I love the way he is capable of blowing away teams at will. It would be a travesty if it is simulation, not his goalscoring, which ends up settling the most thrilling title race for years.”
OPINION
Even the most ardent of Liverpool supporters has to admit that 26-year-old Salah is going to ground a bit easily at the moment. You can’t come out and call him a diver, because there is contact every time, but he’s doing himself no favours with his willingness to go to ground. As Sutton says, if he gets suspended then that could be critical for Liverpool’s title challenge. The Egyptian has so often made the difference in tight games for Jurgen Klopp’s side and without him you wonder whether the Reds would come out on top in close matches. He just needs to keep his feet and not look for contact. If contact comes then you have to go down, that’s a normal physical reaction. However, he needs to stop waiting for contact and throwing himself to the ground. He is a wonderful footballer, perhaps the finest in the Premier League, but he’s doing himself a disservice with his continued antics.
