- Arne Slot praised Mohamed Salah after continuing his scoring streak on Sunday
- However, the Egyptian star was coy about his contractual situation with Liverpool.
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Arne Slot praised the “extraordinary” Mohamed Salah after he took his goal tally to 20 for the eighth consecutive season.
Salah, who said a new contract was “far away”, scored one goal and assisted another as five-star Liverpool thrashed West Ham to finish 2024 on top and extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.
Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota also scored in the 5-0 rout to put pressure on Hammers coach Julen Lopetegui.
And Slot said: 'Mo and the word extraordinary is something I've heard a lot in the last six months; He really deserves it.'
“We know what a player he is and we know what he is capable of doing. But apart from that, he works very hard for the team also when the other team has the ball and yes, we can only hope that he can continue to provide these performances.
“But I would like to add that if he scores, there is also a chance that he will score.” So there are also other players who bring him to these positions, but if you bring Mo to these positions, it is extraordinary. Definitely.'
Arne Slot described Mohamed Salah as “extraordinary” after scoring again against West Ham
The Egyptian is the one who has scored the most goals (17) and assists (13) in the Premier League this season
Liverpool moved eight points clear of Nottingham Forest in second place after their 5-0 win.
Of course, Salah is out of contract at the end of this season and when asked about this, he said: “We are very far from that.” “I don't want to put something in the media and people start saying things.”
Meanwhile, Hammers boss Lopetegui was left frustrated after his team succumbed to the leaders and ended a good run of results over the Christmas period.
The Spaniard said: “We do not compete as we thought today nor as rival Liverpool demands.” “Today has been a tough day for us.”
The only negative for Liverpool was when defender Joe Gómez went down injured and had to be substituted in the first half.
Gomez told reporters after the game that it was a hamstring injury and that Liverpool will wait for news on the severity of the knock with scans in the next 24 hours. Fellow defender Ibrahima Konate is also injured and hopes to accelerate his recovery over the next week.