Despite enduring a campaign that has not gone to plan – to put it mildly – Chelsea were able to pull off one of the best results of the Premier League season when they drew away to Manchester City.
Mauricio Pochettino's side went into the game as massive underdogs, and yet, after a spectacular defensive showing, they were able to come away with a point.
They didn't just spend 90 minutes camped in their own penalty area, though, and had Nicolas Jackson or Christopher Nkunku had their shooting boots on, they could have won it.
It was the exact situation in which it would've helped to have a player on the team they sold almost ten years ago, a player who has since beaten Didier Drogba's Premier League goals record.
Mohamed Salah's time at Chelsea and in Italy
The player in question is the inevitable Mohamed Salah, who, like so many other stars of today, spent a few years on the books at Stamford Bridge.
Salah joined the Blues in a £11m move from Swiss side FC Basel in January 2014, ironically beating Liverpool to his signature.
The Egyptian international made his debut for the Pensioners in a Premier League game against Newcastle United on February 8th 2014. Still, he would make just 19 appearances in total for the west Londoners, scoring two goals and providing four assists.
After a year of not playing much football, he was sent on a six-month loan to Serie A side Fiorentina, with Juan Cuadrado going the other way. He would score nine goals and provide four assists in 26 games for the Viola before moving to Roma on loan for the 2015/16 season, where he scored 15 goals and provided seven assists in 42 games.
Chelsea
Fiorentina
AS Roma
19
26
83
2
9
34
4
4
22
It was now evident that he had no future at Stamford Bridge, so upon the conclusion of his loan deal the Giallorossi paid just £12m for his services, which in retrospect is outrageous.
He would only spend one more season in the Italian capital, in which he scored 19 goals and provided 15 assists in 41 games before Liverpool signed him for £34m.
How Mohamed Salah has fared at Liverpool
Well, as the footballing world is well aware by now, the Nagrig-born superstar has been a sensation since pulling on that red shirt and making his first appearances in front of the Anfield crowd.
In his first season in England, the "special" forward, as described by Jürgen Klopp, scored a frankly ludicrous 44 goals and provided 16 assists to boot in just 52 games, a level of sheer brilliance that led pundit Ian Wright to describe him as possessing "a Messi vibe."
In all, the Champions League-winning winger has scored 205 goals, provided 89 assists for the Reds, and made it up to tenth in the all-time Premier League top-scorers list, with 154 to his name.
Comparatively, Drogba, who is without question one of the greatest strikers ever to grace English football, scored 104 Premier League goals and sits 32nd on the list.
Now, the pair are obviously different kinds of players, and there was always something about the Ivorian great that would make you pick him in a crunch game, but it just goes to show how relentless Salah has been since returning to English football.
Chelsea sold homegrown whiz for £180k and now he's worth £128m
The “ice-cold” gem has an incredibly bright future ahead, having left the Blues academy in the past.
ByJack Salveson HolmesFeb 20, 2024
Ultimately, there's no point crying over spilt milk, or so they say, but in an alternative reality somewhere, the Egyptian icon likely lifted the Champions League trophy in blue and had a few more league titles to his name.