Jurgen Klopp is convinced Mohamed Salah is responsible for even more Liverpool goals than his remarkable stats suggest.
And the Reds boss believes that puts him right up there at the summit of world football, in that rare bracket alongside the all-time great players.
Salah made his 150th appearance for the Anfield club on Wednesday night and in that time he has made a remarkable goals contribution of 130 – which is made up of 94 goals and 36 assists.
Yet Klopp passionately believe that the stats do not offer the full picture of just how important he is to Liverpool and the goals he creates with his dangerous presence around the box.
“His numbers are remarkable, they really are,” said Klopp. “It is so exceptional but if we think about the goals we scored when he made the run or stuff like this, open up the gap, then he’s probably involved in 150 goals.
“If we would have a closer look at that, you’d see just how incredible it is. Just absolutely incredible and what is also absolutely incredible by the way, is the fact he has played 150 games for us in three years. That really is a lot.”
Salah went a rare game without a goal or assist for Liverpool in a frustrating night at the Emirates on Tuesday, when they dominated the match, but lost because of two sloppy losses of concentration at the back.
Even so, it was clear just how fearful Arsenal were of his talents around the box, double-marking him and trying to cut down on the space he had to work the ball.
Despite that, he carved out several chances, as he did against Burnley the previous weekend. But after securing the title, it seems his radar in front of goal is just a fraction off, even with that latent threat.
Klopp though believes the numbers he has produced since arriving at Anfield and the work he has seen on the training ground, makes Salah a true world-class player.
“In football, what he has done is really special,” he said. “I don’t know how many other players in world football had those [figures] ever.
“There cannot be a lot because it’s so exceptional – the 94 goals but involved in a lot of other goals as well with the assists.”
Klopp believes it was a big day for the club when they signed him from Roma for a £37million fee that now looks like a steal and added: “It was a win-win situation when Mo joined us. It was brilliant for us, very good for him because we suit him very well and the way we play helps him.”
