Five of Mohamed Salah’s best Liverpool assists as he reaches 100 for the club

Sitting alongside Caoimhin Kelleher and Harvey Elliott, footage was played of the latter’s goal against Ajax in 2020. The man who assisted him was sitting in the middle of the pair — Mohamed Salah.

The Egypt international slipped a perfectly weighted ball into Elliott’s pass, nutmegging Calvin Bassey in the process. The 21-year-old struck it first time, powering it past the goalkeeper to make it 3-0.

“Nobody in the team has the ability to pass the ball like this, so it must be me — someone looking there (pointing upwards) and passing the ball here (pointing across himself),” Salah told Elliott on Liverpool FC’s In-Flight Entertainment video posted on their YouTube channel after his team-mate admitted he didn’t know who had passed to him.

The trio laughed. While Alexis Mac Allister and Trent Alexander-Arnold would probably have something to say about that, it would not be a surprise if there was a hint of seriousness in Salah’s comment.

He has the evidence to back it up. His cross to Cody Gakpo against Fulham took him to 100 assists for Liverpool in all competitions.

It was his 77th in the Premier League for Liverpool, with only Steven Gerrard (92) above Salah.

He moved into outright seventh place in assists among those who have played for the club since the 1945-46 season. Only Kenny Dalglish (172), Gerrard (145), Billy Liddell (132), Ian Callaghan (130), Alan A’Court (111) and Ian St John (103) have more than the 32-year-old.

It is an impressive accomplishment for a player who has been such a prolific goalscorer since his arrival from Roma in 2017. What often went under the radar in his earlier seasons at Anfield was his ability to create as well as finish.

As Salah has matured, his game has developed and adapted. He is now as much Liverpool’s chief creator as he is chief goalscorer, with a catalogue of impressive assists.

In only one of his eight seasons at Anfield has Salah failed to hit double figures in assists — six in the 2020-21 campaign. His highest total is 16, set somewhat surprisingly in 2022-23 despite Liverpool’s collective struggles.

That record will not last for long, with Salah already on 13 this season and the campaign yet to hit the halfway stage.

His latest was up there with one of his best. With Liverpool trailing 1-0 and down to 10 men, a moment of quality was required and Salah produced a trademark left-footed curling cross to the back post. Gakpo just had to guide it on target.

Unsurprisingly, the two players he has assisted the most were part of the formidable front three: Sadio Mane (assisted 17 times) and Roberto Firmino (assisted 14 times).

No one else has hit double figures yet, but those who replaced Mane and Firmino have begun to rise further up the rankings, with Cody Gakpo (eight), Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz (five) sitting in the top eight alongside Curtis Jones and Alexander-Arnold, who Salah has also assisted five times.

Those relationships are beginning to blossom under Arne Slot. Salah has assisted Gakpo, Diaz and Nunez three times and Jota, who has missed two months through injury, once this season.

Salah is not a regular set-piece taker either, with full-backs Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold the corner takers and the latter the regular free-kick taker. His latest assist was his 88th from open play, with eight coming from corners and four from free kicks.

The Athletic watched all 100 of Salah’s Liverpool assists and picked their top five. This list could have been much longer and many sit in the same bracket of quality.

1. Cody Gakpo vs Manchester United (H) — March 5, 2023

Salah’s take-on success percentage has decreased as he has aged, but his assist in the 7-0 victory over United was a reminder he remains a dangerous ball carrier.

Erik ten Hag’s side were left in a spin from the moment Gakpo opened the scoring and it was underpinned by Lisandro Martinez being bamboozled by Salah in the build-up to Gakpo’s second and Liverpool’s third.

The centre-back didn’t know if he was coming or going as Salah’s footwork left him on the ground.

Salah slipped the ball into Gakpo, who deftly chipped it past David de Gea and it only got better from there for Liverpool.

2. Sadio Mane vs Bayern Munich (A) – March 19, 2019

When Liverpool travelled to Germany for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, they were looking to make a big statement to prove they deserved to be back among Europe’s elite.

Inside the final 10 minutes, Liverpool led 2-1 as they aimed to close out the tie. Salah helped put those nerves to bed.

After receiving the ball from Firmino, Salah clipped an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Mane to seal their side’s progression into the next round.

What made it so special was the outside of the boot crossing technique used by Salah — a growing feature in his assists during his Liverpool career.

3. Cody Gakpo vs Manchester City (H) – December 1, 2024

It would be criminal to not include one of Salah’s assists against City. He has set up seven goals against them, the joint most of any side he has faced alongside Newcastle and Brighton & Hove Albion.

There are a few that could easily make this list — and maybe this is recency bias — but his most recent was top-drawer and an example of the back-post crossing he is so strong at.

This was not one of the typical lofted balls to the back post, but as Salah squared up Manuel Akanji and drove into the box after being found by Alexander-Arnold, he curled the ball into the corridor of uncertainty and out of reach of Stefan Ortega.

Gakpo had the simplest of finishes, tapping home from barely a yard out to give Liverpool the lead in a 2-0 victory over their title rivals.

4. Sadio Mane vs Watford (A) – October 16, 2021

This 5-0 victory over Watford is remembered for Salah’s spectacular solo goal as he danced around a number of defenders in the penalty box before scoring.

What is often forgotten is one of Salah’s most aesthetically pleasing assists to set up Mane for the game’s opening goal.

Salah used his strength to hold off a defender before executing a perfect outside-of-the-foot pass that curled perfectly into the path of his team-mate.

The quality of the pass was highlighted by the Senegal international not needing to break stride before hitting a shot first time.

5. Darwin Nunez vs Newcastle United (A) – August 28, 2023

Big moments late in matches call for big players to step up and make the difference.

Salah has done that repeatedly for Liverpool, both in scoring crucial goals and assisting them late on in games. His joint-most common time to assist has come in the final 15 minutes of games (21) — he matched that tally with his assist against Fulham, coming between 46 and 60 minutes.

When the ball dropped to him midway inside Newcastle’s half, in added time, he spotted the run of Nunez. The scores were level, Liverpool had been down to 10 men for over an hour, and Salah found that moment of magic.

A small gap opened between three Newcastle players and Salah hit the perfect pass, threading the needle and weighting it perfectly. Nunez did not even need to take a touch. He fired it past Nick Pope to seal a memorable victory.

The finish was excellent, but the pass was even better.

(Top photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)