He’s playing very differently in the last month. He’s come to terms with the extra physicality hes been subjected to and he’s fighting back superbly. I talked about this last week, but one other thing i’ve noticed is a new tool in his arsenal.
He was always strong last season - muscular, fast and low centre of gravity. He’d use that strength to hold off jockeying defenders, trying to barge him off the ball, and get into goal scoring positions.
One thing he’s doing this season, with the doubling up of defenders and the lack of physical space is playing as more of a traditional number 9 at times! He’s got his back to goal and he’s holding the ball, or laying it off before spinning in behind the player who’s now following the ball. It’s a move I’ve noticed him try in a more central/direct line to goal this last month, and I’m liking it. We’re going to see the team score some good intricate goals off the back of him doing that and having technical players like Firmino, Robertson, Mane, Shaqiri, Lallana, Sturridge and Trent to choose from in the other attacking places. The best thing about it is the opponents will be facing this expecting him to be running the channels, this should open up space for our other attackers.
If we can keep on providing them with the direct, aggressive and accurate balls from Defence and deep midfield (Alisson, Van Dijk, Matip, Gomez and Fabinho have shown masterclasses of this all season, and they’re becoming more frequent), we’ll really be able to overpower teams whilst *also dominating possession*.
That’s an evolution of our play from last couple of years, and Salah’s new string to his bow hints at its development throughout this season so far.
