Andy Robertson has insisted there is still plenty to come from Mo Salah who is “getting better with age” in certain aspects of his game, according to the Liverpool left-back.
At 32 years old, you would expect some players to be slowing down and winding down to retirement – not Salah, though.
After a full pre-season, Liverpool’s No. 11 looks as sharp as ever and opened the season by scoring two goals in his first two games.
His long-standing effervescence hasn’t gone unnoticed by teammates, especially Robertson who joined Liverpool in the same summer as Salah, seven years ago.
The left-back told reporters, including the Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle: “Mo sets standards every single day. He is a model professional and if any kids are looking at professionals to base themselves on, then Mohamed Salah is not a bad person to do it to.
“Every single day he dedicates his life to football.
“You can see the shape he’s in, he is getting better with age in terms of his shape and his physical output and attributes. That is credit to him.”
With a match against Man United on Sunday, Liverpool know they can rely on him to show up thanks to his incredible consistency against the Reds’ rivals over the years.
In 15 games against the Red Devils, incredibly, Salah has scored 14 goals and provided four assists.
Robertson elaborated on his record, adding: “In the big games in the past, he has more often than not shown up with goals or assists or key moments.
“Just for us, we hope that continues because obviously he is our main man and teams try to stop him.
“We also have quality elsewhere on the pitch that if teams do stop him, we hope somebody else can pop up and steal the limelight.
“I come up against him in training all the time and he’s a fantastic player.
“I think his goals and assists and all-round play speaks for themselves and we hope it continues in the future. He is a big-game player.”
While the early signs this season are that Salah is set to be key for Liverpool in the year ahead, the Reds are still yet to tie him down to a new deal, with his current contract expiring next summer.
Robertson hinted that he wants Salah to stay, saying: “The minute he walked through this door he’s set Anfield alight but he’s also set other stadiums alight.
“He is a Premier League legend, of course he is, but he is still wanting to write a few more stories and hopefully that is him showing up in other big games this season.”
Hopefully those “stories” will have happy endings.