Lionel Messi or Mohamed Salah? As Jurgen Klopp compares the two, the astonishing stats that reveal Liverpool ace IS better than Barcelona’s superstar
JURGEN KLOPP drew comparisons to Lionel Messi after seeing magic man Mo Salah take his goalscoring tally to 36 for the season.
The Egyptian scored four in the 5-0 rout of Watford to take his Premier League record to 28 and move four ahead of Tottenham's Harry Kane.
He is now the leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues.
And he is also one goal shy of breaking Didier Drogba's record of becoming the Premier League's top scoring African player.
Salah, 25, was untouchable, dancing around the Hornets defence and leaving Miguel Britos planted on the floor before firing low into the bottom corner for Liverpool's first.
It was a goal that was reminiscent of Messi at his best, when he left Jerome Boateng kissing the turf during a scintillating Champions League performance against Bayern Munich almost three years ago.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard said of Salah after the game: "we are witnessing the start of greatness."
And Klopp would add: "I think Mo is on the way.
"I don't think Mo or anybody else wants to be compared with Lionel Messi - he is the one who has been doing what he's been doing for what feels like 20 years or so."
So how does Salah compare to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner this season?
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Salah's 36 goals this season means he is averaging a strike every time 90.4 minutes compared to Messi who is scoring every 104.7 minutes.
Not only that, Salah is finding the target more despite having less shots.
He has had 77 strikes on goal compared to Messi's 112.
It means his strike conversion rate stands oat 22.6 per cent while Messi's is only 14.8.
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Messi can boast more assists, having clocked six more than Salah and their dribble success rate is very similar, with the Barca ace just pipping him by 2.4 per cent.
The difference between the two players is Messi has been able to produce consistently for years while Salah will need to carry to maintain his level for the next five or six campaigns.
But if he does, then maybe Liverpool are witnessing the start of greatness.