Mohamed Salah Secures Puskas Award During Record-Breaking Debut Season

Mohamed Salah claimed the 2018 FIFA Puskas Award for his Merseyside derby goal, an accolade that highlighted a 44-goal debut campaign at Liverpool.

Mohamed Salah claimed the 2018 FIFA Puskas Award after receiving 38 percent of the public vote for his curling left-footed strike against Everton. The goal occurred in the 42nd minute of the Merseyside derby at Anfield on December 10, 2017, where the Egyptian forward shrugged off Cuco Martina before bending the ball into the top corner. This specific effort triumphed over overhead kicks from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, despite many observers ranking it as only the seventh-best goal scored by the winger during that single calendar year.

During this inaugural campaign on Merseyside, the attacker registered 44 goals across all competitions, a tally that included 32 strikes in the Premier League. This domestic total set a new record for a 38-game season, surpassing the previous benchmark of 31 shared by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Luis Suarez. His efficiency was marked by a scoring frequency of one goal every 91 minutes of top-flight action, contributing significantly to a total of 58 goal involvements throughout the 2017-18 schedule.

The Puskas-winning goal was one of several high-caliber finishes, yet it faced internal competition from his solo run against Tottenham Hotspur and a long-range chip over Ederson against Manchester City. In the Champions League, he added 11 goals, leading the club to the final in Kyiv. His performance earned him the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards, making him the first player to win three Premier League Player of the Month awards within the same season.

Statistically, the Egyptian international averaged 4.0 shots per game and maintained a pass completion rate of 76.7 percent during his first 36 league appearances. He recorded 10 assists in domestic play, demonstrating a creative output that complemented his clinical finishing. The Puskas recognition came during the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in London, where he also finished in the top three for the Men's Player of the Year category, accumulating 11.23 percent of the total weighted points.

Beyond the Everton strike, his debut year featured a four-goal haul against Watford in March 2018, where he scored from every shot on target he attempted. He finished the season with a shot conversion rate of 22 percent, significantly higher than the league average for forwards. This clinical nature ensured he became the fastest player in Liverpool history to reach the 40-goal milestone, achieving the feat in just 45 matches. The Puskas Award remains a permanent testament to the technical precision he maintained throughout this 52-game stretch of professional football.