Liverpool wing wizard Mohamed Salah has hit yet another Reds milestone with his exquisite assist in Saturday's 2-2 Premier League draw with Fulham at Anfield.
The Egypt international has been at the centre of a protracted contract saga ever since the season kicked off, but he has not allowed the off-field turmoil to impact his excellence on it.
Salah was bidding to score for the eighth Premier League game running this weekend, although his hopes of continuing his hot streak suffered a devastating blow early doors.
After Andreas Pereira opened the scoring for Marco Silva's side in terrific fashion, Liverpool went down to 10 when Andy Robertson was given a straight red card for a last-man foul on ex-Reds man Harry Wilson.
However, Arne Slot's depleted side were not without their opportunities to restore parity, and straight after the restart, Salah produced another moment of pure brilliance for his latest direct goal involvement.
Salah hits 100 Liverpool assists in Fulham draw
© Imago
The 32-year-old found himself on the right half-space just outside the Fulham box, and he found the run of Cody Gakpo with an unbelievable inswinging cross to the back stick, where his Dutch colleague did the rest.
In doing so, Salah registered his 100th assist for Liverpool across all competitions, taking just over seven years to bring up a century of helpers since joining the Reds from Roma in 2017.
In that time, only three players in Europe's top five leagues have posted more assists than Salah - Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (132), Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller (118) and Barcelona's Lionel Messi (108).
Thirteen of Salah's 100 assists have been recorded in the 2024-25 season, during which he has also contributed 16 goals in all tournaments to keep Liverpool at the summit both domestically and continentally.
Despite Liverpool's slip-up, they have increased their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points, as Arsenal failed to capitalise on the Reds' dropped points in their goalless stalemate with Everton.
Inevitable Salah shows why Liverpool cannot afford to lose him
© Imago
Salah has not been afraid to publicly raise his contract situation this season, remarking more than once that he is planning for the 2024-25 season to be his last in a Liverpool kit as he prepares to enter the last six months of his deal.
The winger's comments have been taken as more of a plea to the board than a desire to jump ship, though, and it seems to have worked if reports of Liverpool finally offering him a renewal are to be believed.
While some Liverpool fans want the hierarchy to put a blank cheque in front of Salah and let him write whatever number he wants down, their apparent concerns are not baseless; the Egyptian is turning 33 next year, and there is no knowing when his output might decrease.
However, the former Chelsea and Roma man keeps himself in incredible shape all year round, no doubt a factor in how he has performed at such a sensational level this season, and his dedication to the cause is evidently unwavering even when he is being frustrated by the powers-that-be.
Any new contract is a gamble in football, especially for a player closer to the end of his career than the start, but letting Salah go for nothing in 2025 is simply not an option for Liverpool.
Ben Knapton
