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The exit from the Champions League was particularly damaging, with winners of the award typically going far in Europe's elite competition.

The Carabao Cup was never likely to move the dial much on its own, but the very fact of doing the double would have spruced up Salah's bid for the Ballon d'Or.

Salah broke the existing Premier League goals record in his remarkable debut season at Liverpool, a campaign which also saw the Reds reach the Champions League final, and yet he had to settle for sixth in the vote.

Fortunately, however, Salah is on track to outperform even that Premier League season.

The bar now is to do something so remarkable on the domestic front, it makes up for a lack of progress elsewhere.

Of course, this does encapsulate the capricious whims of the Ballon d'Or, which is never going to be a particularly scientific measure — Liverpool lost on penalties to one of the best teams in Europe, which it drew after topping the league phase, and yet it leaves Salah needing to perform miracles in order to win it.

Raphinha has 13 goals and 10 assists, so both of them are on 23-goal contributions.

Salah has 44 goal contributions in the Premier League, tying the 38-game season record for goal contributions in a single campaign — and there are still nine games left.

Not only does Salah need to end the season on truly extraordinary numbers, he could do with finishing it in fine form because the Ballon d'Or voters have a tendency to show short memories.

What might a strong run between now and the end of the campaign look like

Should Barcelona and Real Madrid also suffer Champions League disappointment, the field blows wide open once again.

If Mbappe scores the winner in a Champions League final, you can forget about anything else that has happened this season, and hand him the award — that's just the way it goes