Can anybody catch Mohamed Salah in PFA Player of the Year race?

The Liverpool forward continued his fine run of form against Everton and, as Jack Rathborn argues, looks almost certain to take the Premier League’s top individual honour this season

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool reacts after scoring his second at Everton (EPA)

Mohamed Salah’s irresistible form rolls on after a sumptuous performance in the derby as Liverpool ran riot against Everton.

A runaway leader now for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, there is now an inevitability about what comes next when the Egyptian forward scampers away from his opponents.

Everton were foolish enough to dare to venture deep into the Liverpool half, which offered up space that Salah gleefully exposes as well as any player in Europe right now.

That was often seen in the old Salah, of course, but his versatile game now enables him to kill off opponents who deprive him of space just as easily.

But once Jordan Henderson had perfectly weighted his ball in behind the Toffees’ backline and once the ball had momentarily deceived Seamus Coleman on the half-way line, Salah ruthlessly dispatched his opportunities in a matter of seconds.

The 29-year-old’s insatiable desire to improve has enabled him to extract more from himself physically, as demonstrated with his second goal by muscling off a desperate Coleman challenge, protecting the ball until his legs accelerated to top speed.

The finishing is now razor-sharp, too. No longer does the Egyptian produce through sheer volume of chances. There is now more finesse as seen by the arc on his first goal that left Jordan Pickford helpless.

That is now 12 goals and six assists in his last 12 Premier League games. Salah has made a goal involvement (goals or assists) in all but three of his 14 league appearances so far. So, even if this searing pace cools, can anybody catch him when it comes to the PFA Players’ Player of the year?

It feels like injuries will deprive Kevin De Bruyne of an unprecedented hat-trick, in successive seasons no less, given he has just five starts to date. Others have ensured the Man City machine maintains its exceedingly high level under Pep Guardiola.

Bernardo Silva has carved out a case to be the best midfielder in Europe on current form, with a slashing volley against Aston Villa this week arguably his highlight of the season. But it is the grace at which he is able to knit City’s intricate build-up together that makes him a potential candidate should the champions eventually surpass leaders Chelsea to defend their title.

Joao Cancelo deserves an honourable mention, purely due to how he has revelled in his unique role to influence games from full-back, with the position’s standard immense right now given the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James.

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates at Goodison Park (Getty)

But while Salah’s star shines bright every week, the focus on the Portuguese pair dims each time another of City’s collection of super talents showcases their exceptional ability. Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and, yes, De Bruyne when fit, will spread out the match-winning performances and therefore divide up any end-of-season votes for City players.

So it seems like it has to be Salah, even at this premature stage of the season, given he has six more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo (four) and Romelu Lukaku (three) combined, making any prospect of either making a case in the early stages of 2022 farfetched.

Usually this award would hinge over whether the Reds can capture the title, but by putting himself so far out in front, Salah has surely taken away that variable.

Indeed, Salah benefited from this exact scenario in 2018 when City won the title, as did teammate Virgil Van Dijk a year later and De Bruyne two years ago when the Reds triumphed.

The Africa Cup of Nations looms, which may provide a curveball to Salah’s form and the prospect of missing as many as four Premier League games. But Salah is showing such consistency right now that he may deliver an insurmountable case before the year is out.