With the 2020-21 season beginning, we will be taking a look at last season’s performances from the Egypt internationals in England – Mohamed Salah, Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’, Ahmed Elmohamady and Sam Morsy – and giving each of their seasons a grade.
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – A
When Salah returned to England in 2017, he wanted to prove that he was good enough for a title winning side such as the Chelsea team that cast him away in the mid-2010s. Three years later, the winger can say that he has achieved that and then some, having won a long-awaited Premier League title for Liverpool making it their first since 1990.
One of the defining features of this Liverpool team is that every win is a team effort, and while there are many standout players, Salah included, they are so rarely reliant on one person that it is hard to stand out. This was the first season in Salah’s Liverpool career that he did not win the Premier League Golden Boot, however he remained in the hunt until the last few weeks of the season and he was only four goals behind the eventual winner Jamie Vardy. He also finished 4th in the league for assists with 10, although Kevin De Bruyne ran away with the lead by equalling Thierry Henry’s record of 20.
The one disappointment for Liverpool will be their performances in the UEFA Champions League as they attempted to retain their title from last season, but the dream came to an end when they lost home and away to Diego Simeone’s gritty Atletico Madrid side just before lockdown. In the round of 16 tie, Salah was comfortably the most dangerous Liverpool player and he very nearly scored a winner in the second leg, but a mix of poor finishing and an inspired Jan Oblak performance sent the Spaniards through.
Overall, in isolation it was an excellent season for Salah, and despite Sadio Mane being widely considered as the star man for Liverpool this season, it is clear that any of the criticisms levelled at Salah at present are a testament to the standards that he has previously set for himself. For that reason, we have graded his season as an A, as he can definitely reach a higher level despite his success.
Trezeguet – Aston Villa – B
Egypt’s other main goal threat, Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’, played his debut season for Aston Villa in what could be described as a baptism of fire for his first taste of football in the top 5 leagues. Having only finished 5th in the Championship last season, Villa knew from the beginning that it would be a tough task even to survive the drop but they made it by the skin of their teeth, as Bournemouth and Watford were relegated instead on the final day along with Norwich.
As you can expect for someone so new to this level of football, it took Trezeguet some time to adjust and he only scored his first goal of the season in the 11th game which came in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. With Villa’s best player and captain Jack Grealish taking a spot on the left wing, it meant that there were times in the season when Trezeguet would struggle for a start however his persistence and work ethic paid off as he produced some big goals in the business end of the season including a brace against Crystal Palace and the sole goal of the game against Arsenal to pick up a crucial six points for Villa in the final few matches.
One thing to note for Trezeguet is that of his 7 goals and 3 assists in all competitions this season, the goals came against Liverpool, Wolves, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Leicester while the assists were against Manchester City and Burnley. As such, every goal or assist was against a team in the top half of the table apart from the brace against Palace, which were among the biggest goals of the season for the club. Due to this, we have graded Trezeguet’s season as a B as, while there were times when he undoubtedly struggled, it is also only natural and the signs are clearly there that he is able to deliver against the best defences in the country. If Trezeguet chooses to stay in the West Midlands, amidst rumours of a return to Turkey, then he has everything to build on this season and become a more consistent goalscorer.
Ahmed Elmohamady – Aston Villa – C
Despite being one of the most experienced players in the Villa squad, Elmohamady struggled to cement his place in the starting lineup as Frederic Guilbert was often first choice at right back. This is largely due to Villa playing with a back four for the bulk of the season, while Elmohamady famously favours the role of right wing back, due to his defensive shortcomings. This was a risk that Villa were simply unable to take as, even with a more conservative approach, they had the second worst defensive record in the league just behind Norwich who were the first team to be relegated this year.
On a more positive note, Elmohamady did also produce some stellar attacking contributions, most notably his late equaliser against Newcastle who are managed by Steve Bruce – the man who not only brought him to Aston Villa, but also brought him to England in the first place with Sunderland as well as a lengthy spell at Hull.
Elmohamady was also instrumental in Villa’s run to the League Cup final, with a late assist for Trezeguet to beat Leicester in the semis as well as two assists against Liverpool, with his most infamous moment of the season coming in the form of his extravagant celebrations against an extremely youthful Liverpool side. He put his experience to good use in the early rounds as well, captaining the side in the first three rounds including once against rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Elmohamady scored a late winner.
We have graded Elmohamady’s season as a C, as he did have some real highlights, but it was largely negated by his inability to start for large parts of the season. As he will be 33 years old at the start of the season, you have to wonder if we are seeing the last few seasons of Elmohamady in the Premier League, so we will hope that he can continue the highlights while he still has the chance.
Sam Morsy – Wigan Athletic – A
No Pharaoh had to face more adversity in the 2019-20 season than Wigan captain Sam Morsy. In their second season back in England’s second tier, the mission from the beginning was survival and when this looked on course to be achieved, disaster struck when the club entered administration and were told that they would be relegated from the Championship if they did not finish more than 12 points clear of the bottom three. Despite a late rally, this was ultimately too big of a mountain to climb and the Latics will be back in League 1 next season.
Despite the nightmare end to the season, it was a truly valiant effort from the Wigan squad especially in the last few months as they found inspiration in their leader Morsy despite the squad barely being paid for much of that time. In stark contrast to the owners, the squad earnt the respect of the fans and Morsy was named as the club’s Player of the Year with 42% of the overall vote. On top of the club’s financial struggles, Morsy also had to bounce back from seeing his childhood friend Chey Dunkley suffer a double leg break in February, which he used as a source of inspiration for the games that followed.
Even with the relegation factored in, we have graded Morsy’s season as an A, as he not only showed his quality as a player but also as a captain and a leader of men. As it seems inevitable that Morsy will have to move on from Wigan, Morsy’s all-round qualities will surely make him a very useful asset for any team in the Championship.
