With the announcement of Liverpool advancing to the finals of the UEFA Champions League along with the Golden Boot Award looming close, Mohamed Salah is pulling back the reins a little. Teammate Alberto Moreno recently reported that in training, Salah has been practicing at only 20% in fear of getting injured. But can you blame him? With 31 Premier League goals, Salah has been working hard. He’s been awarded various other titles this season including PFA Player of the Year and though it may seem as though he’s superhuman when it comes to his skills on the field, he is only mortal and as a result, it may be wise to rest his body.
Regarding the upcoming match against Real Madrid at the end of the month, Salah has insisted the game is not purely a contest between him and Cristiano Ronaldo, but that doesn’t mean Salah can take it easy. Real is hungry for a third Champions League victory. Not only that, but competition has certainly arisen. Before it was just Ronaldo versus Messi, but Salah has made quite the name for himself this past season– so much so that he could even win FIFA Best Men’s Player Award for 2018. Ronaldo has won this award in both 2016 and 2017. Naturally, he wants to win it again. Therefore, the Portuguese player is expected to arrive at the final on May 26, guns blazing.
It’s not the first time this season Salah has worried about his potential performance. In a recent match against Stoke City, Salah threw a punch at Stoke’s Bruno Martins Indi. Though the officials missed it, fans did not and videos of the incident circulated social media. Panic set in for both Liverpool and supporters who waited anxiously to hear whether or not Salah would face a three-game ban. However, after three former referees viewed the footage, they concluded that Salah’s actions didn’t deserve the punishment of a red-card and just like that, the striker was back in the running for the Golden Boot.