Mo magic: Salah shakes off rust as Liverpool make flying start

So Mo, where were we? After a bypass via a Sergio Ramos challenge and an underwhelming tour around Russia, Mohamed Salah has returned to Merseyside with a vengeance, as he looks to set right last season’s unfinished business.

Fully fit, Salah has already opened his account this season with two goals and two assists in the first four league games. Scoring in front of the Kop as Liverpool demolished West Ham 4-0 in the opening game, Salah has ensured that even if this Liverpool team doesn’t win a title this year, the hype around the team will continue to grow.

Salah bagged 44 goals in his first season at Anfield. His account opener against West Ham was a tap-in from a well-constructed team move, but by no means gives cause for doubts over the striker’s quality. This was his 29th goal in 29 Premier League games.

However, with two goals in four games, some are already beginning to doubt that Salah can repeat his performances from last season. His ongoing dispute with the Egyptian FA over the treatment of national players has boiled over publicly, after he wrote openly on Twitter as to why his complaints weren’t being answered. The EFA reportedly replied back with threats of disciplinary action, which they later denied, but in a vital second season for Liverpool, these are the kind of distractions that may prevent Salah from regaining his form after injury in the Champions League final last season.

For Jurgen Klopp - who laughed off claims that the striker’s argument with the EFA is harming his club form - seeing Salah hit the mark is not his priority. “To me, he looks he is exactly in that mood again – only with more confidence – because now he knows it’s possible,” said Klopp after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Brighton last week, “but that is the only change – so don’t get desperate to score goals in this kind of overly strike offensive play. We need him to score goals, but not overly.”

Salah scored in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Brighton, his 2nd of the season

With the strength of the Liverpool team this season, Klopp has every reason to be relaxed about the temporary blip in Salah’s form. The supply line to the forwards has been reinforced by the much-anticipated arrival of Naby Keita, a nimble midfielder who has been compared to the likes of Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante whilst playing at RB Leipzig in Germany. The addition of Brazilian keeper Alisson will take the pressure off finishing chances up-front, as Liverpool look to finally have their first reliable shot-stopper since Pepe Reina.

Sadio Mane and Bobby Firmino, the other two forwards which make up Liverpool’s “Three Musketeers”- a slogan which Klopp does not like but is too eye capturing to ignore - are more than capable of meeting the goal quota if Salah has a poor run of form. Meanwhile, star performers from last season such as Henderson, Alexander-Arnold and Milner have all kicked on and made a good start to the season.

Despite the well-rounded team that Klopp has built, if Liverpool truly want to challenge for the Premier League this season then Salah must produce his best form in the big games. Next in the league, they face Spurs, followed by Chelsea on the 28th, and then Man City early in October, who will be back for blood after Liverpool knocked them out of the Champions League in the semi-final last season.

After the striker went off injured under a Sergio Ramos wrestle against Real Madrid in the final, the reliance upon Salah was painfully evident. Without stellar performance from him in these key games, the Reds may find themselves slipping out of the title race before Christmas.

As a 26-year-old entering the prime of his career, Mo Salah has played almost 200 competitive games and will be prepared for those who label him a “one-season wonder.” Many forget the dire position he was in at Chelsea a few years ago, bouncing back to win the Golden Boot last year. As he shakes off the rust of a dramatic summer, Salah will be back with mo’ magic this season in the hunt for the Premier League title.