Mo Salah can give perfect response to 'selfish' jibe in last two Liverpool games

With the 2023/24 Premier League season nearing its conclusion, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has a clear incentive to finish the campaign on a high note.

Of course, the Egyptian King has already helped the Reds secure a top-three finish finish and in addition to the title race, European and two relegation places  to still to be decided, there are a number of individual awards still up for grabs.

One being the Premier League Golden Boot. Despite Salah's best efforts, his 18 goals in the top flight of English football are unlikely to be enough for him to claim the prize for a third time in his career as he currently trails Erling Haaland by seven as a result of the Manchester City striker plundering four past Wolves last weekend.

However, the 31-year is very much in contention to be crowned the Premier League Playmaker of the Season. This award was introduced in the 2017/18 season to reward the players who create the most goals for their teams. Ahead of the penultimate weekend of the campaign, Salah has 10 assists to his name - a record bettered by only Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins (12) across the entire division.

This can certainly add a little more spice to Monday night's encounter at Villa Park, although both players will have to keep a close eye on the likes of Anthony Gordon, Pascal Gross, Kieran Trippier and Julian Alvarez who can also have a say as to where the award ends up.

Salah had gone eight successive Premier League games without providing an assist before snapping the sequence by laying the ball off for Harvey Elliott to make it 4-0 against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend with a stunning strike in Jurgen Klopp's penultimate home fixture as Liverpool manager.

Mohamed Salah can deliver the perfect response with assist award

Interestingly, it's not too long ago that Liverpool legend Graeme Souness described Salah as the most ‘seflish’ player he’s ever seen following the flashpoint involving the winger and Klopp during the 2-2 draw away at West Ham United.

“Salah, who would be the biggest star in the Arab world, will have - and all players do - an exceptionally large opinion of himself,” Souness told the William Hill Presents Three Up Front Podcast. "And he'll have been angry at not starting the game and be angry and not getting on to the game earlier.

"And I think that was a reaction: ‘You're putting me on with, what is it, 10 minutes to go?’ Whatever it was. ‘What, you want me to go and change it for you now? You're not leaving it a bit late?’

“Forget the weekend, prior to that, whenever he's taken him off, he's never been happy. That's what you want from your players. I've only got two goals today, I want to get another one.

“He's a goal machine. And when [Sadio] Mane was there, he would fall out with him every game they played together. He's the most selfish player I've ever witnessed, Salah."

Granted, Salah is such a prolific goalscorer that his creative talents often go under the radar. The fact he's in the running for the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award highlights how unselfish he is and claiming the prize would go a long way to debunking the 'greedy' jibe.