Liverpool midfielder James Milner said that the other Liverpool players should ease the pressure on Mohamed Salah. Ever since coming to Anfield from Chelsea, Salah has become Liverpool’s talisman. In his first season with Liverpool, Salah scored 44 goals in 52 matches across all competitions. He was the Premier League’s top scorer as well as the Player of the Season. The Egyptian signed a new long-term contract with the club this month.
The 32-year old Milner is of the opinion that Salah’s impact could be more significant if his teammates take some burden off his shoulder by sharing the responsibility of the goals. Milner said, “The best players in the world aren’t known because they just did it in one season, they do it over and over again. He is more than capable of doing that. There is pressure when you have had one good year to deliver again but he is a top player. He’s shown that. He’s going to keep on 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.”
Milner said that extending Salah’s contract was the most important piece of business Liverpool had to do all summer. He said, “Yes, but I was never worried personally. 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.
The speculation [over Real Madrid’s interest in Salah] is what happens when you have good players. That’s a positive thing for us that when there’s speculation about your players it means they are playing well and performing, and he obviously has. You’ve seen what him and Sadio have brought to the team when they’ve come on against City.”
Mohamed Salah played his first match for Liverpool since that ill-fated Champions League Final by coming on as a substitute against Manchester City. When he came on to play, Liverpool were trailing 0-1. However, just 52 seconds after coming on the field, Salah equalised for the Reds. Liverpool eventually went on to defeat City thanks to a last-gasp penalty by Sadio Mane.
The Reds will next face Manchester United at Michigan on Saturday.
