Salah’s Viola patch: Fiorentina ask “Cuadrado who?”

Date: 4th March 2015 at 10:00am
Written by:

When the Gigliati swapped their Colombian ace for €33 million and a Chelsea substitute, it seemed that Serie A had lost another star player and gotten little back.

Mohamed Salah Fiorentina

Egyptian international Mohamed Salah was sent in the opposite direction by the Blues for a loan spell, and the move has been a rewarding one for both the Gigliati and the 22-year-old winger.

Salah has scored four goals in just six matches in all competitions for Fiorentina, and if his impressive start is anything to go by, the Egyptian has shown that the Viola are not missing Cuadrado.

It was on February 8 that Salah made his first appearance in Serie A, when he replaced Spanish winger Joaquin in Fiorentina’s 3–2 win against Atalanta. Although Salah was not directly involved in the goals, the former Basel winger showed glimpses of his talent with his fine ball control and passing.

Mohamed Salah Fiorentina

A week later he was included in Fiorentina’s starting line-up against Sassuolo by Viola coach Vincenzo Montella, and throughout the match, the Egyptian combined well with Senegalese striker Khouma Babacar.

After Babacar made an audacious back-heel, Salah sprinted away, shrugged off two defenders and slotted the ball past Andrea Consigli to give the Gigliati a 1–0 lead.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/kghv6PTwew0[/youtube]

He then returned the favour to Babacar by supplying the centre-forward with a through-ball and the Senegalese striker made it 2–0. Fiorentina eventually won 3–1 and Salah’s impact was vital to the victory.

Fiorentina

Despite his performance against Sassuolo, Montella decided not to start Salah for matchday 24 against Torino.

It did not matter too much as the Egyptian came on to replace Alessandro Diamanti after 66 minutes, and scored with five minutes remaining after he played a sublime one-two with Alberto Gilardino. Giuseppe Vives equalised for Toro and the match ended 1–1, but Salah was minutes away from being the hero.

The Egyptian winger started in Fiorentina’s 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League, but he was not directly involved in Jose Basanta’s equaliser.

Fiorentina v Tottenham Europa League

In the second leg, Salah sealed the Viola’s qualification for the Round of 16 in the 2–0 win in Florence. He tried to play a one-two with Mario Gomez which didn’t work but an error in the Spurs defence was pounced on by the on-loan Chelsea player.

Salah’s latest appearance was in the 1–0 win against Inter on the weekend, and after coming on for Babacar, he struck the ball powerfully into the Nerazzurri goal after Samir Handanovic failed to hold onto Manuel Pasqual’s cross.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/NOdo-yeyOhk[/youtube]

Although he doesn’t start regularly, Salah has demonstrated that he can optimise his time on the pitch. He was selected for Montella’s Europa League squad ahead of more experienced forwards like Gilardino and Diamanti and he has averaged a goal every 65 minutes in Serie A.

It makes you wonder how he only played three matches in the Premier League this season.

His predecessor Cuadrado was impressive in the 2013-14 season, having scored 11 goals in 32 league matches for Fiorentina and the Colombian starred in his country’s quarter-final run in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Juan Cuadrado Fiorentina

Cuadrado’s form was not the same after the World Cup as Montella opted to use him as a support striker, which did not suit his fast and direct approach. The Colombian international had also underachieved in big matches whereas Salah has displayed that he is a man for the big occasion.

With Salah’s fantastic vein of form and Fiorentina already considering making his loan deal permanent, the Viola fans might already be asking themselves, “Cuadrado who?”

Salah - Inter v Fiorentina

 

Comments are closed.