After a week of anguish for the Anfield fans, Mohamed Salah was back and showed what he could do in a Liverpool shirt after replacing Joe Gomez within half an hour of their Premier League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion. The reception he received, as expected, was loud from the home fans – but how did the Egyptian striker perform in his first appearance since the aforementioned comments?
Unfamiliar to him, three weeks without being in the starting line-up was enough for Salah to attack the Dutchman after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United, claiming the club had “thrown him under the bus”. “I used to have a good relationship (with Slot). Now we don’t have a relationship, and I don’t know why,” he said.
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Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been working in high gear for the past few days to become friends again with their amazing goal machine!
Statistics: Only Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285) have scored more goals than Mohamed Salah’s 250 in Liverpool’s history.
Undoubtedly a legend at Anfield, the 33-year-old Salah threw his future at the club into doubt with his heated statements in the mixing zone at Elland Road, and there were questions about whether he would ever play in a Liverpool shirt again. However, that question was answered on Saturday afternoon when he was substituted, to the sound of applause, in the 25th minute.
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Liverpool won two goals over Brighton at Anfield, both signed by Hugo Ekitike. Before round 16 of the Premier League is finished, Liverpool are in 6th place, while Brighton are down in 9th place.
Mohamed Salah back in Liverpool action
Recalled after being excluded from the Champions League squad for this week’s match against Inter Milan, Salah was first named on the bench with Dominik Szoboszlai – who is statistically one of the best performers in the Premier League at the moment – in his place on the right wing. But he quickly got the chance to silence any doubters, when his expertise was required.
An injury to Gomez forced Slot to rely on Salah sooner than many expected, and Szoboszlai returned to a right-back role while the Egyptian international took up his usual position – on the right wing with Hugo Ekitike through the middle and Florian Wirtz on the opposite flank.
He may have missed a golden opportunity to mark his return to Anfield with a goal in injury time, but there was still a lot to appreciate in the former Chelsea player’s performance.
Mohamed Salah’s stats against Brighton
Minutes – 64
Touches – 45
Touches in the opponent’s field – 8
Goals/Assists – 0/1
Total shots – 3
Accurate Passing – 27/32 (84%)
Overall rating – 8.3
Energetically as soon as he entered the pitch, “Mo Salah, Mo Salah running down the wing” was sung by the home fans who welcomed a club legend back. His assist, albeit a fairly simple one, proved just what he is capable of offering Slot and his entourage when he is picked. Ekitike met the Egyptian’s cross to nod it into the goal, but the cross was well placed, it must be said.
That assist now means Salah has the most goals (277) for a single club in Premier League history, but there was a lot more to like about his performance. He created five chances, took 46 touches of the ball – eight of them inside Brighton’s 16-yard box – and his crosses were precise. Did he prove his worth? Definitely.
Salah has been at the heart of Liverpool’s success for the past eight years since moving from AS Roma in the summer of 2017, establishing himself as one of world football’s best players in the process. The draft to sell him in January would not only be painful for Liverpool supporters to accept, but also a wrong decision. He is too important for Slot and his entourage.
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Liverpool supporters react to Mohamed Salah’s return
So… Are supporters back on Sallah’s side, who is widely recognised as one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s rich history, or do they still believe parting ways with the experienced winger is the best way to go? Many, who take to social media, are of the opinion that he must stay. “There is no reason for Salah to leave right now. We can have a great season”,
“Mo has had a bad period, but any plan from LFC to sell him would have been completely foolish. Football is such a protected sport, no player can give an opinion, Salah was entitled to his,” added another, while a third commented: “Can’t we sell Salah, please? This team can win the Champions League with the addition of Guehi and Semenyo.”
“With Salah in place for Gomez, this looked like the perfect starting eleven. Salah was never THE problem. In fact, since coming in, he has added energy that Gomez, as a natural defender, did not have/has. Let’s see if this game changes the mentality of both Slot and Salah.”
“If Salah continues to play like this when he comes back from the AFCON, he won’t have to worry about being scrapped,” said one, while another supporter believes that selling Salah in the winter transfer window would be the wrong decision. “I don’t care what Hughes or Edwards thinks, there’s 0 chance you can sell Mo Salah this January and get something positive back,”
“Salah is too good to leave. HE MUST STAY,” wrote another, while one last supporter claimed that his performance against Brighton proved exactly why it would be a bad decision to sell him. “This Salah performance is more than enough to prove his worth. He’s able to develop his game to suit his aging self, and no, he shouldn’t have to run back for us to defend properly.”
