After 12 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, and after a bright start for Man City, Mohamed Salah received a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold and burst through Nathan Ake, burst into the box and forced the hosts into a defensive position. “It’s the first time we’ve seen a Liverpool player look comfortable,” Gary Neville said on Sky Sports. It was a reminder that Salah didn’t need much time to change the game. Less than two minutes later, he had scored the opener.

Salah’s goal, which came after a well-worked corner, was his 241st in all competitions for Liverpool, moving him level with Gordon Hodgson and third in the club’s all-time scoring list, behind only Roger Hunt and Ian Rush. It was an incredible achievement. But Salah has never been better.

Few players have ever done so. In fact, with his assist for Dominik Szoboszlai’s second goal, combined with his own goal, Salah is on course for the best season in Premier League history. It’s only February, but with 25 goals and 16 assists, Salah’s total of 41 goal involvements is bettered by only a handful of other players in a single campaign. He’s on course to break Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole’s record of 47 goal involvements in 42-game seasons.

If he continues to maintain this form, Salah will end the season with 58 goal involvements.

Jamie Carragher said: “This is going to be the greatest season we’ve ever seen from an individual, I have no doubt about that. It’s not just that he’s going to surpass everyone else, it’s that he’s going to set a standard so high that it’s going to be hard for anyone else to reach in the future. We’re witnessing something really special.”

Salah showed his full potential at the Etihad, shining on the big stage and destroying Man City for the second time this season. He is the first player in Premier League history to score and assist in both games against the reigning champions. The numbers are staggering. Salah has scored and assisted in 11 Premier League games this season, the most of any player in Europe’s top flight since Lionel Messi’s 2014/15 season at Barcelona.

Carragher added: “He’s having a Messi and Ronaldo season.” Another former Liverpool player, Daniel Sturridge, agreed: “We’re talking about Ballon d’Ors.” Gary Neville said: “There are good players, and then there’s him. You wouldn’t realise, watching him, that Salah will turn 33 in June.

Age has been at the centre of new contract talks between club and player, but this is just the latest performance to show Salah is at his peak. Neville commented: “He’s always been strong, but it feels like this season the way he holds up the ball from long passes and controls the distance from defenders is better than ever.”

Salah’s combination of power and composure was also evident in the build-up to Liverpool’s second goal, as he easily outplayed Josko Gvardiol before laying the ball off for Szoboszlai. City couldn’t cope. Salah showed his usual ruthlessness with his goal, finishing first-time, albeit with a deflection, but his performance was more than that.

He is not only efficient but also sophisticated. In the first half, Salah played a clever pass to Alexander-Arnold into the box. His ability and willingness to switch between goalscoring and creating is one of the qualities that sets him apart from the rest. Salah also performs well off the ball. When Alexander-Arnold struggled to control Jeremy Doku in the first half, Salah dropped back to help, even making two tackles in quick succession to stop the opposition attack.

Of course, Liverpool’s victory was not all about Salah. Nor was their season, which will almost certainly end in the Premier League title, all about Salah. Under Arne Slot, Liverpool have continued to evolve and adapt to the demands. Defeat to Nottingham Forest in September was their only Premier League defeat this season.

They kept piling up the points. At the Etihad, Neville described their performance as “a classic away performance”. Salah caused havoc, but Liverpool only had 34% of the possession. The way they defended in the box, calmly and composed, was key to the result.

They even found a new outlet from the corner that led to Salah’s goal. Before this game, they were bottom of the table for free-kick goals with just three. They have improved from one of the few weaknesses they needed to address.

Neville said: “The great thing about Liverpool’s performance is that we’ve been told over the last six or seven years that you need a philosophy, you need to play one way. But this team can adapt and do three or four different things in the same half. And of course, they know exactly how to get the most out of their best player.”

Neville on Salah: “He’s in a golden moment of his career, when everything seems so easy for him. He’s on a different level to anyone else on the pitch. I’m not going to get into his contract, Liverpool will want to keep him, but he’s one of the best players the Premier League has ever seen. When I look back at my career, especially that first title-winning season, when Cantona scored the winning goals, and you just think, ‘that’s the difference, that’s the different player, the one who comes through in the most important moments, when the title is at stake, when you’re playing against the best teams.’ Who’s going to stand up and win it for you? That’s what Salah brings to Liverpool.”