There’s Only One Mohamed Salah
Name a more iconic duo than sportswriters and rash overstatements. You can’t do it. Sports pages in the internet age are awash with flavor-of-the-day, hype-driven FOMO. No one wants to miss the chance to be the first on the scene when the new hotness starts heating up. On some level this is understandable. There’s a certain joy in bearing witness to the birth of a new legend that is impossible to resist. But when you have people touting “A New Egyptian King” at the first conceivable opportunity, you’ve entered a world of pure fantasy. There’s only one Mohamed Salah.
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Mohamed Salah: Record Breaker
There’s certainly a not-insignificant number of people out there who are tired of hearing about Mohamed Salah. Every week, there’s a new record he’s broken, a new milestone he’s hit, another victory he’s salvaged. Or, perhaps he’s had an off night, which is newsworthy in and of itself. Salah is touted as the very best player in the Premier League right now, and it’s easy to see why. Especially in this season, in which he is carrying the burden of Liverpool’s world-beating campaign in both England and Europe on his sturdy shoulders. The season prior, he broke Thierry Henry’s record for European goals and became the top goalscorer for Liverpool in the Premier League. The season prior to that, he surpassed Kenny Dalglish as a goalscorer. Two seasons ago, he became the top goalscorer in the League among African players.
I could go on in that fashion, which is precisely the point. Year-by-year, season-by-season, Mohamed Salah is nothing short of exceptional. Even considering what a squib last season was, Mohamed Salah was far and away the best player in a red shirt. “Consistency” is the word that always follows the name of Salah, a testament to how inexorably he produces world-class soccer. Defying the ill-informed noise that he’s a fossil past his prime, he’s arguably having the best season of his career in 2025. He currently sits at number 3 for Liverpool’s all time goalscorers, is within a razor’s edge of the top 5 in assists, and, as a winger, is the leading goalscorer in the League by some distance. But where fans and admirers see consistency, longevity, and heroic discipline, journos see a stale narrative. Enter Omar Marmoush.
False Royalty
Marmoush is a hotshot who recently impressed in the Bundesliga, standing out as one of the finest players in the league at Eintracht Frankfurt. He was snapped up by Manchester City in January in their latest attempt to spend their way out of their current death spiral. He quickly earned his keep, harrying a hapless Chelsea defense in his debut match. But it was his appearance against Newcastle that got people’s tongues wagging. Scoring a hat-trick in the first 15 minutes ensured that everyone knew the name Omar Marmoush. And it wasn’t long after before the rhetorical question was asked: Is this the next Mohamed Salah? Man City fans event took to the Egyptian King moniker.
As with most things at Etihad, it was little more than a pale imitation of the genuine article. But that hardly dissuaded people. A “new” Egyptian King is fresh and exciting. It’s a refreshing change of pace from boring old Mohamed Salah, who is so predictably excellent. I couldn’t help but scoff at the presumption of it all even back then. But when the two sides finally clashed at the end of February, the difference between the two could not have been more apparent.
Head-to-Head
With Manchester City hosting and Erling Haaland not even on the bench, it would have been the perfect opportunity for Marmoush to demonstrate his royal credentials. The hosts dominated possession and took twice as many shots as the opposition. Yet it was another effortless victory for the Pool Boys. It was a monumental victory in light of the fact that Jurgen Klopp has never defeated Guardiola’s City in a league matchup at Etihad. And naturally, it came at the feet of Mohamad Salah. It was his 11th game of the season where he clocked both a goal and an assist, putting him in easy range of yet another Premier League record.
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Meanwhile, Marmoush was highly-visible but completely ineffective. One of his strikes found the net, but it was flagrantly offside. The rest of the match was spent responding to Liverpool’s defense with melodramatic flops and petulance when his theatrics proved as ineffective as his offensive play. Indeed, regarding the actual state of play, few commentators had much to say about the so-called New Egyptian King. He was wasteful in front of the goal and helpless away from it. Salah, meanwhile, matched his record-breaking offensive performance with an astonishing work rate. When you have a first-class fullback like Andy Robertson singing the praises of the defensive effort of the top goalscorer in the league, you have to admit that something truly special has taken place.
No offense is intended to Omar Marmoush. He’s clearly a fine striker and will likely do well at Etihad for years to come. But one good performance — brilliant as it was — does not a Mohamed Salah make. Marmoush is no king. He has not earned what Mohamed Salah has earned. When Marmoush has 7 years of peerless excellence at his back, then maybe we’ll talk coronation. But there’s no need for a new king while the old one still reigns. Mohamed Salah has shown no intention of giving up his crown, and will only continue to add more jewels to it as this season waxes on. Anyone who wants it from him should come with better weapons than a Newcastle hat-trick.
