Paul Merson has claimed that he would rather have Mo Salah in his side than Eden Hazard.
The two mercurial talents will face off at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, with Liverpool knowing that a defeat could be disastrous to their title bid.
Speaking on Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports News, April 13th, 1pm), Merson suggested that Salah’s goals made him the more desirable prospect for a manager.
He said: “One gives you a million goals playing on the wing, that’s some doing.
“You know, Salah, people say his season hasn’t been great but he scores goals. Goals win football matches, not individual performances. I don’t think Hazard gets enough goals for me.
“It’s a weird one, because Hazard is the best player in the Premier League, but if you were a manager, I’d go for the goals with Salah.”
OPINION
Choosing between Salah and Hazard is a real Sophie’s Choice for any football fan. The two of them are arguably the two brightest sparks in the Premier League when they are in full flight, and in a lot of respects, they are very similar. In truth, Hazard is probably marginally better in terms of raw talent, but like Merson says, goals win games, and Salah certainly gets plenty of those. Obviously, he has endured something of a barren spell in recent times, but even then, he is still in real contention for the golden boot, and that speaks volumes about his quality in front of goal. The hope will be that Salah, who did break his duck with a fine solo effort against Southampton last Friday, can finally wrench the floodgates open, and go to town on a temperamental Chelsea side when they need him to perform most.
