Jamie Carragher shut down Gary Neville with an eye-catching statistic which sums up yet another phenomenal campaign for Mo Salah.
The Sky Sports pundits were selecting their respective teams of the season on Monday Night Football, with Erling Haaland the only shared pick in their three-man forward lines.
While the ex-Manchester United defender chose Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli alongside, him, Carra went for the Egyptian attacker and Harry Kane.
Neville explained his omission of the Liverpool number 11 by saying: “I’d have him in it every single season but I’ve picked someone else. Mo Salah’s numbers are fantastic, but when I’ve watched him play this season, I don’t think he’s been anywhere near the levels of the players I’ve picked.”
Carragher immediately responded by contextualising the 30-year-old’s magnificent goal contributions record among Europe’s elite forwards, pointing out: “In the top five European leagues, only Haaland and [Kylian] Mbappe have got more goals and assists than Mo Salah this season, [and] that’s the Premier League.”
Even in a supposedly poor season for him, if you believe some misinformed pundits, the Egyptian has hit 30 goals and set up another 15 (Transfermarkt), massive numbers which again underline why he’s among the world’s best forwards.
With many football observers hailing Haaland and Mbappe as perhaps the two best players on the planet, for Salah to rival them for scoring contributions sums up his ongoing brilliance.
You can catch the clip of Carragher and Neville discussing the Liverpool star below, via @SkySportsPL on Twitter:
🍿👀@Carra23 and @GNev2 debate whether Mo Salah should be in the Team of the Season 👇 pic.twitter.com/BZdM3wyXqN
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 22, 2023