Football
ESPN staff 6y

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is best player on the planet - Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard has hailed Liverpool's Mohamed Salah as "the best player on the planet" after his extraordinary season continued with two goals and a pair of assists in Tuesday's 5-2 Champions League win over Roma.

Salah scored a stunning opening goal at Anfield as Liverpool took a giant step towards the final, adding another before the break and then setting up strikes by Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

Liverpool great Gerrard, an analyst at the match, told BT Sport nobody in the world, including Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, was playing better than 43-goal Salah.

"He's in the form of his life," he said.

"It's difficult to compare him to your Ronaldos and Messis because they've done it for so long and they've been consistent year in, year out.

"But, without a shadow of a doubt, he is the best player on the planet right now."

Salah's latest Man of the Match performance means he has now scored in each of his last five Champions League starts, equaling Gerrard's club record.

His haul for the season so far means he is second only to legendary striker Ian Rush for the most goals scored in a season by a Liverpool player, with Rush netting 47 times in 1983-84.

Salah's tally has also eclipsed Fernando Torres' record of 33 goals in 2007-08 as the most in a debut season for the club.

His 31 league strikes mean he has matched Luis Suarez, in 2013-14, for the most in a Premier League season for Liverpool.

Salah and Firmino are the first Liverpool players to hit double figures in a Champions League campaign, with 10 apiece in the competition proper this term and one in the playoff second leg against Hoffenheim.

Information from the Press Association was used in this report.

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