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If Liverpool, the reigning Premier League champion, earn silverware this season, Mohamed Salah will have a “much better chance” of winning the Ballon d’Or, according to Arne Slot.

The Egyptian superstar, 32, is the favourite to win the award, regarded as the top individual prize in football, after a sensational campaign so far.

Salah has 30 goals and 21 assists in all competitions this campaign, but he is yet to agree to a new contract to keep him there until the end of the season.

However, Slot, manager of Liverpool, stated on Tuesday that despite those impressive numbers, the club must win significant prizes to help their forward win his first Ballon d’Or.

The Dutchman said on Tuesday, “It’s a good thing that Mo is in the discussion because it indicates that we are doing well.”

“But he needs to give the same performances he’s been giving for the past seven or eight months,” he said.

” And I think, in general, someone that wins the Ballon d’Or needs to win something as well, so it’s a great challenge that is in front of us, but also in front of him. “

Liverpool, who host Newcastle on Wednesday, are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with 11 games to go but Slot said he does not fear complacency.

If you have to play 11, he said, “We all know these players are so long in this competition, even much longer than I do, so they know how challenging every single game is.”

Liverpool will face Paris Saint-Germain in the final 16 of the Champions League while they are also playing in the League Cup final against Newcastle once more.

At his pre-game press conference, Slot was asked if Salah’s current form could be compared to Lionel Messi’s or Ronaldo’s former best form, but he shied away from direct comparisons.

” He (Salah) has had some outstanding seasons here at Liverpool, and we hope he can continue this for a longer period of time, but to do that he first has to extend his contract of course, “he said.

The Liverpool manager was also questioned about whether Salah’s breakout form would help the club come to an agreement on a new deal or make it harder or harder.

” You can look at it in both ways, “he said”. We would have second thoughts if we wanted to extend his contract, and the better he does, the more expensive he might become.

Enzo Maresca has urged his sluggish Chelsea team to step up while Cole Palmer is still in the boot camp, saying that “we rely on Cole for everything.”

The attacking midfielder from England has this season’s Premier League scored 14 goals and contributed six assists, but his last goal was in mid-January and he last scored on December 1.

Chelsea, who lost their first four games to runaway leader Liverpool in mid-December, is just one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who are now just two points behind them.

Maresca, preparing his team to host rock-bottom Southampton on Tuesday, said he was not worried about Palmer’s dip in form.

READ ALSO: ‘ Champions-Elect’? Liverpool Crush Helpless Man City, Go 11 Points Clear

Cole is a human being, and during the season, he might experience some struggles, he said to reporters on Monday. “I’m not concerned about him.

“We rely on Cole for everything, and I’ve said that we need to rely on the team,” Cole said. For sure we need big players, top players like Cole, but we are not worried about Cole at all”.

He added: “Every game we expect from him a goal or assist. It’s difficult, he’s a human being, he’s a player. At this moment, probably his performance also reflects a little bit the team performance.

When we have the chance, we need to be a little more analytical. “We struggle to score goals.

The Italian, in his first season at Stamford Bridge, remains upbeat over Chelsea’s form as they chase a Champions League place.

” Even against Villa (a 2-1 defeat on Saturday), I think the identity was there, “he said”. Our play on and off the field was very similar to what we were doing earlier in the season.

“So the identity is there. After the Aston Villa game, I said that now I think we can have a good run and maintain good momentum. That is what the players need right now, in my opinion.

With a deserved 4-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday, Bayern Munich reclaimed their eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Before the break, France star Michael Olise broke the deadlock, Hiroki Ito doubled the lead for the visitors, and Jamal Musiala finished off another inspiring performance with a stunning late third.

Bayern remain top of the Bundesliga and one step closer to regaining their crown, thanks to Musiala’s contribution to a crucial victory.

In injury time, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry combined for a fourth and added a fourth to complete the icing on the cake.

Bayern have won seven of their eight league games since the turn of the year, drawing just once, at champions Bayer Leverkusen, last weekend.

Harry Kane, who had only made it through the first half of Bayern’s midweek Champions League game against Celtic, was replaced by Thomas Mueller, who had the German veteran come off the bench for the first time in his Bundesliga career.

Since Omar Marmoush left Eintracht for Manchester City in January, they have lost just two of their six league games and are now starting to lose.

Bayern had taken the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first period, and their patience paid off.

The excellent Musiala picked out his teammate Leroy Sane, whose low cross found Olise, who had a straightforward tap-in to cap a clever and quick Bayern move.

Bayern didn’t let up in the second half and, while their second was fortuitous in nature, it was no less than the league leaders deserved.

Eric Dier’s header deflected off the unlucky Rasmus Kristensen to the feet of Ito, who couldn’t miss from a yard out, but Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp failed to make it happen.

Musiala put the result beyond doubt in the 83rd minute, showing tenacity, strength and skill to duck and weave his way past Frankfurt’s last defenders, before drilling a low left-footed shot past Trapp.

Gnabry collected Coman’s pass to steer in to make it 4-0, a scoreline that did not flatter the Bavarians.

Leverkusen, had already won this weekend, 2-0 at Holstein Kiel on Saturday, meaning the gap between them remains the same with 11 games to play.

Earlier on Sunday, RB Leipzig fought back to salvage a 2-2 draw with struggling Heidenheim.

READ ALSO: &nbsp,]FULL FIXTURES] Liverpool Play PSG In Champions League Last 16

Leipzig lifeline&nbsp,

Our Red Bulls gave a strong fightback, but it ultimately only adds up to one point.

⏱️ FT | 2-2 | #RBLFCH pic. twitter.com/lFzeaU7W3o

Mathias Honsak’s sublime shot from outside the box rattled the hosts in the sixth minute, giving them a shock lead.

Willi Orban, the Leipzig captain, was found to have struck Marvin Pieringer in the box, which made things even better for the visitors.

Pieringer calmly slotted in his second of his two penalties this year despite Orban’s protests.

Heidenheim, who entered this match second bottom of the Bundesliga and without a league victory in six, was credited with keeping the team in the game thanks to goalkeeper Kevin Mueller.

But in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Leipzig found a lifeline.

The Belgian found the bottom corner to cut Heidenheim’s lead after Kevin Kampl’s cross was cushioned by Benjamin Sesko into Kevin Kampl’s path by Benjamin Sesko.

In the 64th minute, Leipzig restored parity with a contentious penalty.

Tim Siersleben, a Heidenheim defender, was punished for punching Openda in the face.

Sesko Cooly slotted in from 12 yards after a lengthy VAR review.

In an effort to avoid falling into disarray, the visitors made their first point since January 15.

Leipzig, who was treading water in sixth place, missed out on a chance to return to the top four.

Despite extending an 11-point lead with a 2-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said the depth of the Premier League meant his side can take nothing for granted.

Second-placed Arsenal are in the lead, but Slot’s men made a huge comeback with their first league victory at the Etihad Stadium in ten years, leading to a record-equal 20th English top flight title.

During Pep Guardiola’s time in charge, cities have won four straight titles in the last four seasons, dominating English football.

They haven’t been as effective this year, and they are now 20 points adrift of Liverpool, who are currently fourth.

“If you play away at the Etihad, if you win there, it’s always a big win, no matter what the league table looks like,” said Slot.

After Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai scored in the first half, City ran out of ideas in their pitiful search for a way back into the game. The travelling Liverpool supporters sang, “We are going to win the league.”

Slot, though, remains cautious after suffering a shock FA Cup exit to second-tier Plymouth Argyle earlier this month and being pushed all the way by relegation-threatened Wolves in a 2-1 win last weekend.

“The fans can sing whatever they want, I think they’ve been singing it quite long already. But as a team, we are aware of how hard we must work to ensure that every victory is celebrated,” Slot continued.

“So in every other league, having a lead like this would be very comfortable, except for this one, because this league, every single game gives you a lot of challenges.

“Even Plymouth Argyle gave us a lot of challenges. ”

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City Miss the ‘Magic’ 

When Guardiola’s men lost just one win in 13 games between October and December, City’s title defense was actually over.

City were much more competitive with the Premier League champions-elect after a harrowing Champions League exit to Real Madrid in midweek.

The home side enjoyed 66 percent possession and had 16 shots on goal to Liverpool’s eight.

However, Liverpool could rely on Salah for inspiration in the final third while City were lacking Erling Haaland’s talismanic presence as a result of their injury.

“I think (Jeremy) Doku and Savinho played an incredible game and got to the by-line a lot but then just from there we missed the magic,” said Guardiola.

“We played really good so I have no regrets. The chances in the final third, when we want to shoot and cross, for the amount we arrived there, we did not create much. ”

Guardiola claims that City has occasionally appeared to be an ageing team during this season’s fall from grace.

But the Catalan coach saw signs of rejuvenation as three of his January signings, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Abdukodir Khusanov, started along with the likes of Doku, Savinho, Rico Lewis and Phil Foden.

“I saw a bright future. Other than Kevin (De Bruyne) and Nathan (Ake), they are the future of this club in the next years, with others who will come in future windows. ”