LONDON — Mohamed Salah said talks over a new Liverpool contract have not moved on significantly after starring once more in a 5-0 thrashing of West Ham to help open up an eight-point Premier League lead.
“We are far away from that,” Salah told Sky Sports. “I don’t want to put something in the media and people start saying stuff, but nothing really has moved on.
The Egyptian scored once and set up two more goals to take his tally of goals in all competitions for the season to 20 plus 17 assists in 24 Premier League and Champions League appearances.
Salah, along with teammates Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, is out of contract at the end of the season, meaning they could discuss a free transfer with non-English clubs from January 1.
“Now, I am focused on the team and hopefully we win the Premier League,” Salah added according to AFP.
Reports in recent weeks have suggested an agreement is getting closer between the 32-year-old and the Reds, but Salah shot down those suggestions.
“The only thing in my mind is that I want Liverpool to win the league and I want to be part of it,” added Salah.
“That is the only thing I have focused on. I will do my best to win the trophy. We are in the right direction but there are other teams trying to catch up with us. We just need to stay humble and go again.”
Arne Slot has won 23 of his 27 matches since taking on what seemed a daunting task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
The Dutchman was questioned on whether Salah is currently the best player in the world and said it is hard to disagree based on his stats this season.
“If you look at his numbers, you can’t argue that, but there are different players in different leagues that have a lot of quality,” said Slot.
“But Mo is definitely up there at the moment. He could have scored more today, but I also liked his work rate for the team without the ball.
“He’s in a very good place. Let’s hope he can stay like this for a long time.”
The Egyptian has been enjoying a vintage season despite uncertainty over a new contract and scored once and provided two assists as Liverpool dismantled their outclassed hosts.
He now has 20 goals in all competitions this season and appears to be firing Liverpool towards a 20th league title in Dutchman Slot’s first season in charge.
Even after marking his 500th game in charge of Manchester City with a much-needed victory, Pep Guardiola insisted his team has “no chance” of winning a fifth straight Premier League title.
Guardiola looked visibly relieved after City ended a five-game winless run in all competitions by beating Leicester 2-0, only a second victory in 14 matches after the worst stretch of results in the Spanish manager’s illustrious career.
The win still left City 14 points behind Liverpool after the leaders trounced West Ham 5-0 away, with Slot’s team also having a game in hand. So after winning an unprecedented four straight Premier League titles, Guardiola has already written off his team’s chances before reaching January.
“We are far away from winning the Premier League. We accept there´s already no chance of that but we have other things to fight for,” Guardiola said according to AP.
Just winning a game is a battle for City these days.
A team that used to easily beat teams like relegation-threatened Leicester by three or four goals found itself pegged back for much of the game despite Savinho’s 21st-minute opener, and the hosts missed several good chances to equalize before Erling Haaland headed home City’s second in the 74th.
“Just relief, that is the word to express how all of us feel,” Guardiola said. “It was not the ideal performance but hopefully the victories will give our mood a better position. … Hopefully in the new year we can bounce back a bit from a bad moment.”
For the first time in a while, Guardiola had a genuine smile on his face as he walked onto the pitch after the final whistle to hug his players and applaud the fans after taking his tally to 362 wins in his 500 games – along with 18 trophies.
“The players have given me a good present today, celebrating 500 games like this,” he said.
