You may have noticed that with his goal during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Ipswich at Portman Road, Mohamed Salah has now achieved the record for the most goals—nine—scored on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
However, a less commonly referenced statistic highlights how he contributed to Arne Slot’s successful debut as Liverpool’s manager. In that match, Salah executed 31 sprints, marking him as the second most sprinting player in the Premier League that weekend.
This statistic is partially rooted in the tactical approach utilized. The only player who outran him was Leif Davis, the Ipswich left-back appointed to keep an eye on Salah, who recorded 32 sprints. Had he reached a total of 33, he might have prevented Diogo Jota’s opening goal, but he allowed Salah the space to set it up instead.
The tireless energy and astute movement exhibited by the Egyptian forward took advantage of Ipswich’s high defensive line. “Their centre-back often moved toward [Dominik] Szoboszlai,” Slot remarked. “That leaves three defenders for three attackers.” Salah capitalized on this situation.
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Highlights from the Premier League match between Ipswich and Liverpool
By the conclusion of the match, he had recorded a higher expected goals total—excluding penalties—than in any away game at Anfield during the previous Premier League season. His connection with Jota is beneficial; Jota prefers the left channel, which creates additional space for Salah to operate.
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Diogo Jota created space for Salah to capitalize on during the match against Ipswich.
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At the age of 32, there is natural speculation regarding how much longer he can maintain this level of performance. Liverpool’s iconic winger John Barnes transitioned to a deeper midfield position, while Ryan Giggs followed a similar path. Cristiano Ronaldo evolved into a centre-forward role.
This performance suggests that Salah is capable of continuing in this role for the foreseeable future. “Considering how he takes care of his body and prepares to play in every match, I believe he has many more years left in him,” Slot commented. Both physically and tactically, this is very promising.
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Here, we summarize all nine opening weekend goals scored by Salah in the Premier League.
Saka continues to seek one-on-one opportunities
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Highlights from the Premier League match between Arsenal and Wolves
Salah has long been regarded as a Premier League expert when it comes to cutting in on his left foot to find the back of the net, but Bukayo Saka proves he is no novice. The 22-year-old winger for Arsenal once again showcased his skills by scoring and assisting in his team’s 2-0 victory over Wolves.
During the match held at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Saka managed 15 touches within the opponent’s box, surpassing any other Premier League player in action that weekend by four touches. One of these touches directly led to his goal, while he didn’t even need to step inside the box to set up the opener.
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Bukayo Saka had more touches inside the opposition box than any other player
His total of 15 touches in the opposition box matched his highest tally during any Premier League match last season, and it was evident that he was afforded far too much freedom throughout the game. Nevertheless, as Mikel Arteta noted afterwards, anticipating Saka’s intentions does not equate to being able to stop him.
Arteta even drew a comparison between Saka and Lionel Messi, stating, “With exceptional players, it’s like that. With Messi, I know he’s going to come here and place the ball there. But he does it consistently, and you cannot halt him. That’s the quality of a player.”
That being said, credit must be given to Arteta for designing his system in a way that frequently isolates defenders against Saka. Over the past three seasons, Saka has faced opponents in one-on-one situations a staggering 766 times. The next closest player is Gabriel Martinelli, who has encountered such situations 569 times.
