With seven minutes to go at a stormy Saint Mary’s on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool won a penalty. So, Mohamed Salah stepped up. As he always does. In every sense. Salah struck his spot-kick sweetly to seal a 3-2 win over Southampton that sent his side eight points clear at the top of the Premier League, and as he raced away to celebrate, off came the shirt.
The weather was atrocious, but Salah didn’t care. He had a point to make. The Egyptian may be a humble and quiet character off the field but, as he stood bare-chested in front of the adoring away fans with his arms spread out wide, this felt like an open invitation for all and sundry to marvel at his magnificence, a very deliberate reminder that, at 32 years of age, he remains at the absolute peak of his powers, physically and mentally.
Just a couple of hours later, he sent another one - and it was far more pointed. Indeed, after rescuing the Reds from what would have been an embarrassing defeat, Salah utterly humiliated the club’s owners and directors by publicly revealing that he's yet to be offered a new contract, meaning Liverpool’s most reliable match-winner, their most valuable player by some distance, really could leave for nothing at the end of the season...