OPINION
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who won the PFA Player of the Year award for his excellent debut season at Anfield last term, has missed out on a place in this season’s PFA Team of the Year.
Salah, who earns a reported £200,000-a-week [Spotrac], not only won the Player of the Year award last season, but also clinched the Golden Boot, having broken the record for the most amount of goals scored in a single 38-game Premier League season, with 32.
This season though Salah has been left out of the PFA Team of the Year announced on Thursday, but there was some better news for the Reds with Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson all selected in the Team of the Year.
The PFA Premier League #TOTY! #PFAawards
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This season Salah has struggled to reach the same dizzying heights he reached last term, with opposing teams focusing much more attention on the 26-year-old often doubling up on him to prevent him getting into his stride.
However, despite this Salah has still registered a goal every 158 minutes, scoring 19 league goals in 35 matches so far this season.
The Egyptian is the joint-top scorer in the Premier League so far this season, level with Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and one clear of team mate Mane. He can therefore feel hard done by to have missed out on place in the Team of the Year for a second successive season.
However, a benefit of the extra defensive attention focused on Salah this season, is that it has given more freedom to Liverpool’s other attacking players. The likes of Mane and Roberto Firmino have enjoyed more space to work in and collectively as a team Liverpool have improved considerably this term.
Salah’s omission from the Team of the Year may take some pressure of the Egyptian next season. Opposing teams will need to figure out a way to stop all of Liverpool’s dangerous front three, Salah will hope this may give him more freedom next season.
Liverpool supporters though should not be concerned because despite not being at his absolute best, Salah has still enjoyed a very good campaign, which could get even better if the Reds are able to win the Premier League title.
