Mohamed Salah has twice been kept at bay by the Nottingham Forest defense this season, making it one of the only back lines in the country that could even begin to claim to have his number. But one star of the City Ground rear guard has reacted tellingly to the news that the Liverpool ace will be remaining on Merseyside.
Nottingham Forest has nearly driven Arne Slot mad in his first season in English football. He might almost have been glad to lose to Fulham last weekend, a result which at least means the aberration at Anfield in September is not the only result to have denied him an invincible campaign.
The return fixture ended 1-1, with Diogo Jota bagging the goal. As yet, Forest is the only team to face Salah twice and not allow him a goal or assist, with Crystal Palace the only remaining team that even has a chance of matching that record.
Even so, Ola Aina has echoed the thoughts of many Premier League defenders in response to Salah’s new contract. He expressed mock dismay at the news the Egyptian will be staying in the division for another two years.
“He’s signed again?” Aina exclaimed, with Sky Sports News broadcasting the story on the TV in the background. “The league is finished!”
Obviously, this was somewhat in jest. But it shows just how highly regarded Salah is by his fellow professionals.
Even in a record-breaking season, where Salah is already tied for the most ever goal contributions in a 38-game Premier League campaign, there are those who have tried to put him down. They have pointed to his high number of penalties, or his perceived late-season decline.
But for those who actually have to play against him, there is no doubt whatsoever that Salah is among the very best around. Said light-heartedly or not, Aina will not have been alone in harboring a wish for the Egyptian to finally pack his bags and pick on another league instead.
And Aina isn’t even the one who has to come up against Salah directly. After playing the first three games of the season for Nottingham Forest at left-back, he switched to the right just in time for the trip to Anfield, and has remained on that side ever since.
Salah took on Alex Moreno that day instead, before an entertaining duel with former Liverpool defender Neco Williams in the return match. The Welshman has been exceptional this season, and dealt with the Egyptian despite playing on his weaker side.
(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
(Incidentally, Liverpool may well wonder what might have been with Williams, with Trent Alexander-Arnold set to move on and the Nottingham Forest star now an established performer at the top level. But Conor Bradley looks at least as promising.)
Aina did have some work to do against Salah in 2021, when he started at left-back for Fulham. But Salah actually played through the middle that day, so it still wasn’t a direct duel — and in any case, Fulham left Anfield with a 1-0 win.
So if anyone has the right to be a little cocky about Salah, perhaps it is Aina. But he knows the truth: when the Liverpool star turns it on, he can leave any Premier League defender in the dust.
Liverpool now gets another two seasons of that, and potentially Virgil van Dijk too. Maybe the league really is finished.
