Liverpool's Salah named Premier League player of the season, Gravenberch best youngster
LONDON: Mohamed Salah was named the Premier League player of the season on Saturday after a stellar individual campaign as Liverpool cruised to their second Premier League title while his team mate Ryan Gravenberch was named the young player of the season.
Salah scored 28 goals and provided 18 assists to guide the Anfield club to the title, with Arne Slot's side winning it with four games to spare.
Having also earned the award in 2017-18, Salah became only the fifth player to win it twice after Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Kevin De Bruyne.
It had to be him...
Mohamed Salah is your @EASPORTSFC Player of the Season @LFC | @MoSalah pic.twitter.com/pY8pEjCruq
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 24, 2025
The 32-year-old Egyptian is on course to win another Golden Boot for most goals in a season and is five strikes ahead of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak going into the final day of the season on Sunday.
No player before has had 46 goal involvements in a 38-game season and Salah could even break the record of 47 held by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole, who achieved the feat in a 42-game campaign, when Liverpool host Crystal Palace at Anfield.
With six more assists than any other player, Salah can become the first footballer to win the Golden Boot, Golden Playmaker and player of the season awards.
Salah also won the Football Writers' Association men's player of the year for the third time earlier this month.
Gravenberch became one of the first names on the team sheet under Slot, who deployed the Dutchman as a deep-lying midfielder, and the 23-year-old has become a crucial part of Liverpool's spine, making 36 appearances this season.
His versatility to shield Liverpool's back line has come to the fore this season while his ability to quickly initiate attacks, cutting out passing lanes and winning back possession, has made him indispensable.
No midfielder has made more interceptions this season than Gravenberch (59).
Gravenberch was also nominated for the Player of the Season award along with Virgil Van Dijk — the three Liverpool players who have clocked the most minutes in the team in the Premier League this season.
He is also the second Liverpool player to win the youngsters' award after Trent Alexander-Arnold won it in 2019-20, the season it was introduced.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
9 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Nkunku's Extra-Time Goal Sparks Chelsea To Weather-Delayed 4-1 Win Over Benfica In Club World Cup
Christopher Nkunku scored off a rebound in extra time, and Chelsea went on to beat Benfica 4–1 in a Club World Cup Round of 16 match Saturday at Bank of America Stadium. The match was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly five hours to complete. Chelsea advances to play Palmeiras in the quarterfinals Friday in Philadelphia. Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1–0 on Saturday. Nkunku's tiebreaking goal came in the 108th minute with Benfica playing a man down after Gianluca Prestianni received a red card. Moisés Caicedo's left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the center of the goal by Anatolii Trubin, but an alert Nkunku was there to bury the deflection into the top right corner before being mobbed by teammates. Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added insurance goals in extra time for the final margin. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Reece James scored on a free kick in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1–0 lead. But with four minutes left, the match was stopped because of lightning and delayed for two hours. When the teams returned, Chelsea was called for a handball in stoppage time when the ball hit Malo Gusto's hand. Angel Di Maria converted the penalty to even the match. After dominating most of the first half, the English club finally broke through when the 25-year-old James laced a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net. The Portuguese side had a chance to tie it in the 78th minute, but Gianluca Prestianni sent a right-footed shot from the right side of the box just left of the goal. Prestianni held his head in his hands in agony after the miss. In the closing minutes, players were pulled off the field and fans told to seek cover due to lightning strikes in the area, although it did not rain at the stadium. Only a few thousand fans returned for the conclusion. Chelsea entered with a 3–0 record against Benfica and controlled the tempo in the first half with a 5–1 edge in shots on goal. But despite possessing the ball more than sixty percent of the time, the Blues headed to the locker room at halftime in a scoreless tie. The match was not well attended. More than half of the lower bowl of the 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium was empty, and all but a few hundred seats in the upper deck remained unclaimed as the event continues to struggle with ticket sales in the US even as it moved into the knockout round. Key moment: James' goal gave Chelsea momentum after it failed to convert some decent looks in the first half. Takeaways: Benfica seemed content to play defense most of the match and try to take advantage of its few chances. But the offense could not capitalize on the opportunities it generated. Noteworthy: It was the first two Round-of-16 knockout games at the home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Inter Milan meets Fluminense on Monday, with the winner facing either Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarterfinals.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
Joint wins Eastbourne title to end Eala's history bid
EASTBOURNE, UK: Australian teenager Maya Joint saved four match points to clinch the WTA title at Eastbourne with a dramatic victory over Alexandra Eala that ended the Filipino's history bid on Saturday. Joint survived a tense clash lasting two hours and 26 minutes, emerging with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10) win to seal her second WTA Tour title. In the youngest Eastbourne final since 1981, world number 51 Joint staved off the four championship points in a gripping final-set tie-break. She finally wrapped up the title by drilling a backhand winner before collapsing to the turf in delight. 'I'm very happy right now, feeling very relieved as well. It was a very difficult match, I'm proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match,' Joint said. 'I'm glad I was able to find a way back. Alex played really well today. She definitely tested me and after the first set she got very aggressive. 'What an amazing crowd, you guys came and supported me every day so thank you.' Having also defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne over the last week, Joint has underlined her status as one of the rising stars of the women's tour. After winning on clay in Rabat in May, the 19-year-old has proved she can thrive on grass as well ahead of the start of Wimbledon on Monday. Joint was unable to make it two trophies in one day as she and partner Hsieh Su-wei were beaten 6-4, 7-5 by Marie Bouzkova and Anna Danilina in the doubles final. It was a painful defeat for Eala, who was so close to becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour title. The 20-year-old wiped away tears of frustration during the on-court trophy presentation. Eala had become the first Filipino to reach a WTA final after beating Varvara Gracheva in the last four at Eastbourne on Friday. 'I want to congratulate Maya for a great match and great tournament,' Eala said. 'This is my first WTA final, it's a big deal for me and for my country too because it's historic. I guess that's also why I'm so emotional. 'Wimbledon is next week so hopefully I'll forget about this match soon.' Eala's run to the final has made the world number 74 one to watch in the coming months. After progressing through qualifying to make the main draw, Eala beat Lucia Bronzetti, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Nottingham Open finalist Dayana Yastremska and France's Gracheva. She had burst onto the scene with three shock victories over Grand Slam winners Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semifinals in March. Eala is due to face reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon first round on Center Court on Tuesday. But Krejcikova is struggling with a thigh injury that forced her to pull out of the Eastbourne quarter-finals on Thursday, putting the Czech's title defense in doubt.
Al Arabiya
14 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Jannik Sinner Won't Say Why He Fired Two Team Members Right Before Wimbledon
Jannik Sinner confirmed that he recently fired two members of his team–fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio, who themselves were replacements for people involved in the player's doping case–but declined Saturday to explain the reason for the change ahead of Wimbledon. Sinner, who has been ranked No. 1 for more than a year, said that he decided shortly after losing in the second round of the grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany, this month to make the change. Sinner has not yet found substitutes for Panichi and Badio, who both used to work with Novak Djokovic. 'Nothing seriously bad happened. They did great work for (the past) three months. Sometimes things happen,' Sinner said at his pre-tournament news conference. 'The timing obviously isn't the best, but having done a lot of work (together) before, it won't affect this Grand Slam a lot. I feel well physically and mentally and ready to compete.' Play begins Monday at the All England Club, where Sinner was a quarterfinalist in 2024. He will play Luca Nardi in an all-Italian matchup on Tuesday. Last year, Sinner tested positive twice for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid in March; the case wasn't made public until August, shortly before the US Open, which he ended up winning for the second of his three Grand Slam titles. He initially was completely cleared based on the defense that he accidentally was exposed to the banned substance Clostebol via a massage from his then-physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi. Sinner said his fitness trainer at the time, Umberto Ferrara, purchased a product in Italy and gave it to Naldi for a cut on Naldi's finger. Naldi then treated Sinner while not wearing gloves. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the exoneration, and Sinner agreed to serve a three-month ban that ended right before the Italian Open in May. On Saturday, Sinner was asked repeatedly in English and Italian what led him to part ways with Panichi and Badio. 'There's not one specific thing,' Sinner said. He was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open three weeks ago, wasting a two-set lead and three match points in a final that lasted 5 1/2 hours. As for adding new team members, Sinner said Saturday: 'I haven't thought about replacements. It's not the time to think about my options. But there are a lot of options.'
