African star tipped to break more Premier League records

James Milner insists Mohamed Salah is not a one-season wonder, with the Liverpool veteran confident his star team-mate can enjoy another record-breaking campaign.

Liverpool forward Salah took Anfield by storm last season, scoring 44 goals in all competitions and 32 in the Premier League following his arrival from Roma.

Salah – who suffered a shoulder injury in Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid – walked away with the Premier League’s Golden Boot and Player of the Year among other individual honours.

After enjoying a goalscoring return in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the International Champions Cup on Wednesday, Milner believes the Egyptian sensation can build on his 2017-18 exploits.

“I think obviously there is pressure when you’ve had one good year to deliver again. I think he’s a top player, he’s shown that and he’s going to keep improving.

“We need to keep improving as a side with him as well and make sure that all the pressure is not on his shoulders to deliver goals and get us out of tough situations.

“It’s down to all of us to help him be the best player he can and do that as part of a team.”

Salah’s performances alerted some of Europe’s giants, with Champions League holders Madrid linked to the 26-year-old.

However, Salah signed a new five-year contract earlier in July to pledge his future to Liverpool.

“I was never worried, personally,” Milner said. “There’s always going to be stories when players do well. You saw how well he played last season, improving, and he seems happy so I don’t see any reason why he’d want to go.

“That’s what happens when you have good players. That’s a positive thing for us that when there’s speculation about your players it means that they are playing well and performing, and he obviously has.”

On 22 June 2017, Salah agreed a transfer to Liverpool. He signed a long-term contract with the Reds for an initial €42m fee that could rise to €50m. The fee was a club record, eclipsing the £35m spent on Andy Carroll in 2011. He was assigned the number 11 shirt previously worn by Roberto Firmino who instead switched to number 9. He joined the club on 1 July upon the opening of the summer transfer window, becoming Liverpool’s first Egyptian player. He scored on his debut against Watford in a 3–3 draw on 12 August.

 On 24 August, Salah scored his second goal for Liverpool, in a 2017–18 UEFA Champions League play-off round 4–2 win (6–3 agg) against Hoffenheim, his first goal at Anfield. Three days later, Salah scored and assisted a goal in a 4–0 victory over Arsenal.For his performances in August, Salah was awarded Player of the Month by Liverpool supporters. On 17 October, Salah netted twice in a 7–0 Champions League win over Maribor, helping Liverpool to the joint-largest ever away win in the competition, and the largest away win by an English club.

On 17 March 2018, Salah scored four goals in a 5–0 win over Watford, which was his first hat-trick for Liverpool. In this game, he also broke a record of scoring 36 times in his debut season for Liverpool.

On 22 April 2018, Salah was awarded the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, having earlier been named in the PFA Team of the Year for the Premier League. Two days later, he scored a brace in a 5–2 Champions League semi-final first leg win over former club, Roma. In doing so, he simultaneously became the first player from Africa and the first Liverpool player to score 10 goals in a single campaign in the tournament.

His double also took him to 43 goals for the season across all competitions, surpassing Roger Hunt’s tally of 42, and making him Liverpool’s second-highest goalscorer in a single season, behind Ian Rush. He had previously also broken the club’s record for the Premier League era, surpassing Robbie Fowler’s total of 36 goals set in the 1995–96 campaign, and Fernando Torres’ record of 33 for the most goals by a Liverpool player in a debut season.