The record is still within reach. Mohamed Salah (33, Liverpool) is challenging the Premier League record for the most all-time attacking points as he heads into the final league match.

The British 'BBC' reported on the 20th (Korea time) that "Salah missed a crucial opportunity in the match against Brighton & Hove Albion, leaving just 1 point needed to achieve the all-time Premier League attacking points record."

Liverpool lost 2-3 against Brighton in the 37th round of the 2024-2025 season Premier League match held at the American Express Stadium in Brighton, England, on the 20th. On this day, Salah started as the left winger but failed to record any attacking points.

The match marked Salah's 400th appearance for Liverpool. In the second half, he completely misjudged a cross from Cody Gakpo, missing an open goal. Salah also smiled as if he couldn't believe it.

Two months ago, Salah was on track to break the single-season record for the most attacking points in Premier League history. In March, he recorded 2 goals and 1 assist against Southampton, bringing his total to 44 attacking points from 29 matches with 27 goals and 17 assists. He only needed 3 more to surpass the previous record held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole (47 attacking points).

Moreover, it seemed likely he would surpass the single-season assist record (20) held by Thierry Henry (Arsenal) and Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City).

The problem is that in the following 8 matches, Salah managed just 1 goal and 1 assist. He currently has 46 attacking points (28 goals and 18 assists). He only needs 1-2 more to add to various records, but the anticipated explosiveness has vanished.

After the match, manager Arne Slot remarked, "Every time the ball comes to Salah, I first think, 'This will be a goal.' Salah has been almost superhuman this season. But every player has phases like this. Fortunately, such situations do not happen often, and usually, he would score in the next match right away."

Salah expressed his determination in April, after securing the Premier League title, stating, "Records are a great motivation for me. I hope to break it soon." The final match is against Crystal Palace at Anfield. It remains to be seen if Salah can wrap everything up in one game.

Salah captained the team in this match and is currently leading the scoring race with 28 goals this season. The runner-up is Alexander Isak from Newcastle with 23 goals. Unless a special variable arises, Salah is set to win his fourth Premier League Golden Boot, equaling Thierry Henry.

The possibility of winning the European Golden Shoe is also of interest. Currently, Viktor Jörgensen from Sporting CP in Portugal is leading with 39 goals as the season ends. However, considering the point-system conversion based on league level, both Salah from the Premier League and Kylian Mbappé (29 goals) could overturn that. If Salah scores multiple goals in the final match, he could potentially make a comeback.

The BBC reported that "Salah has recorded 244 goals and 110 assists in 400 matches since transferring to Liverpool from Roma in 2017. He already holds the record for the most all-time attacking points in league history based on a 38-match system, surpassing the figures of Erling Haaland (44) and Thierry Henry from the 2002-2003 season (44)."

Players who have recorded more than 50 attacking points in a single season in Europe's top five leagues include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suárez, and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Messi's top record was 50 goals and 16 assists for a total of 66 attacking points in the 2011-2012 season.

The BBC added that "Salah has recorded both goals and assists in a total of 49 matches in the top five European leagues. This is the third-highest record following Messi (102 times) and Ronaldo (65 times) since Opta started compiling the data in the 2006-2007 season."

[OSEN]