Mo Salah ends DECADE-long drought that almost defies belief

Liverpool are on track for a historic season under Arne Slot, having dominated the Champions League opening phase, leading the Premier League and securing back-to-back EFL Cup finals.

Fans of the Reds can hardly believe how smooth the transition has been from Jurgen Klopp's management to Slot taking over the team and moulding it in his image.

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A clear style of play has been implemented, that seems to be more reliable in the long term for the team, leaving Liverpool less prone to dropping points in silly matches and restoring calmness to the team's endeavours.

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But while most of the rock and roll football elements have been displaced, the performance levels of the team have arguably increased and Mohamed Salah is on track for the most prolific season of his career at 32 years old.

Everything came together for the team against Tottenham and Salah was able to overcome a challenge that has been a thorn in his side for almost 10 years.

Salah cuts the shackles loose

Throughout his career, Salah has been prolific in front of goal, focusing primarily on finishing off the chances that are afforded to him, while creating his own opportunities by attacking defenders head-on.

However, assists have also been an important part of his game, and in recent years, he has been able to showcase his ability as a playmaker as well as a goalscorer.

This season, his attacking returns show a player at the peak of his powers using all of his skill sets at once. Currently, he is sitting on 26 goals and 18 assists in 34 games across across all competitions.

His goal and assist on Thursday was the 10th occasion this season where he has scored and provided a goal in the same game for Liverpool. The eight times that he has done so in the Premier League this season is a record for the competition (per Squawka).

However, while it is understandable that the Egyptian doesn't always play in the EFL Cup matches, his assist for Gakpo's opener was a much more significant milestone than you might think.

It was the first time he had assisted in the domestic cup competition since October 2014 when he played for Chelsea.

That assist came against Shrewsbury Town for fellow African Footballer of the Year Didier Drogba in a 2-1 win.

That's right, just over 10 years have passed since his last EFL Cup assist. That doesn't seem believable, right?

Well, it's true. During his maiden season at Liverpool in 2017/18, he wasn't featured in the competition, he played once in the 2018/19 season, was rested in the 2019/20 season, and has featured nine times in the proceeding five seasons, netting four goals and now one assist.

In part, this can be put down to Jurgen Klopp's early disregard for the domestic cups. They were utilised as opportunities for the fringe players and the academy prospects.

But once the club started to progress more frequently to the latter stages of the competitions, it seemed only logical to make use of the chance to take home a trophy by bringing the more senior players back into the fold.

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Liverpool have been able to win two EFL Cups in the last three years, and following their successful passage to the final last night after winning their two-legged semi-final tie against Tottenham 4-1 on aggregate, Slot will attempt to add a record 15th win to the history books.

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