Debate: Mohamed Salah or Eden Hazard?

Two weeks ago, we saw a title-driven Liverpool side dispatch of a top-four seeking Chelsea. Perhaps the 2-0 scoreline flatters the Reds, as this was a better than expected Chelsea performance. Nonetheless, the score never lies and if you don’t take your chances, you don’t deserve to win.

It was a game that saw Liverpool’s star man Mohamed Salah score an absolute banger, on the other hand, Eden Hazard fluffed two one-on-one opportunities. These two are by far the marquee players of their team, so much so that they have to be compared with each other and not their own teammates. This comparison has caused much debate across the footballing world, forcing every fan to take a stand.

So, what do you think: Eden Hazard or Mohamed Salah?

For: Mohamed Salah

Even in a season where Salah is seen to not be firing and Hazard is in ‘rich’ form, Salah is still outscoring his counterpart by a country mile. In Salah’s ‘poor’ season, the wide forward has notched up 21 goals, in comparison to Eden’s 16. Many will say that tally is due to Salah’s selfishness, but the Egyptian has provided 8 assists this season which is a fair amount.

List of Accomplishments:

• PFA Players’ Player of the Year (2017/18)
• BBC African Footballer of the Year (2017)
• African Footballer of the Year (2017 & 2018)
• PFA Fans’ Player of the Year (2017/18)
• Premier League Golden Boot (2017/18)
• Premier League Player of the Season (2017/18)
• Carried Egypt to the 2018 World Cup

To be quite honest, there are quite a few more that could be added to this list for the Egyptian, but it’d take too long to list them all…I suppose that speaks volume for the type of player he is. Salah has played 158 fewer games in the Premier League than Hazard but is now only 32 goals behind the Belgian in PL history. In addition, Salah averages 0.64 goals a game, while Hazard averages 0.34. Are you starting to notice a pattern here?

The Egyptian wizard became a Golden Boot winner after one full season of PL football, something the Belgian hasn’t come close to achieving in his seven seasons at the Bridge. Not only did he win the Golden Boot, but Salah also set the record for the most goals ever scored in a 38-game Premier League campaign. A feat that puts him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Sergio Agüero.

Salah has pace, technique and can dribble whilst scoring a bucket load of goals, can Eden Hazard say the same?

For: Eden Hazard

There aren’t enough words to describe how good Eden Hazard is, so let’s start by listing the main accomplishments of his career.

• PFA Players’ Player of the Year (2014/15)
• 2-time Premier League winner
• UEFA Europa League winner
• Premier League Player of the Season (2014/15)
• Chelsea Player of the Year on 3 occasions

Beyond his extensive list of accomplishments, Eden Hazard’s natural ability speaks for itself and doesn’t need to be translated into a list of achievements recognised by various sporting bodies. Bar Lionel Messi, there isn’t a better dribbler in world football than Chelsea’s star man. The Belgian often glides past players with ease, subsequently, he’s the most fouled player in the Premier League.

Yes, Mohamed Salah’s 2017/18 was great but there were several occasions where he had to rely on Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino to bail him out. Eden Hazard has had no such help since arriving in London, season after season the 27-year-old carries Chelsea on his back by himself. Salah had one great season, Hazard has been delivering in world’s most watched league for years on end. In 241 PL appearances, Eden has directly contributed to 136 goals, not bad for someone who ‘oNlY dOeS sTePoVeRs’ eh?

Here’s one line to end the argument: Eden Hazard often gets compared with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah only gets compared with Eden Hazard.