Mohamed Salah, Arne Slot spies on everyone after Liverpool home blizzard
A week after the explosive statements that caused the public break with coach Arne Slot, Momahed Salah is back on the field: the Egyptian star player, who after not being called up for the Champions League match with Inter’s side seemed to be heading for a farewell to the Reds, not only returned to the squad for the home match with Brighton in the Premier League, but also took the field, albeit not from the first minute. Salah, initially on the bench, in fact took Joe Gomez’s place on 26′, on the score of 1-0 for the Reds (Ekitiké’s goal on 1′), taking the applause (but also some booing) from the fans present at Anfield.
The case-Salah was not only back in the squad, but also on the pitch, although not in the first minute.
The case-Salah had exploded after the Leeds draw last week, when the two-time best footballer on the African continent, responding to questions from a Norwegian reporter, had indulged in heavy criticism of coach Slot and the club: “I could not believe I had to stay on the bench all the time – his words -. This is not the first time it has happened to me this season, while in the rest of my career it had never happened to me. I have given so much to this club and now I feel I have been dumped, there are those who blame me that I do not feel I have. Other promises were made to me in the summer, and everything has changed”.
“I had a good bond with Slot, now we are at zero: I think he does not want me here anymore– the Egyptian had then added -I love Liverpool, I am a fan as well as a footballer: now, however, the only certainty I have for the future is that I will be at the African Cup of Nations, for the rest I do not know what will happen in the coming days”. Words that hinted at an immediate farewell, a hypothesis that seemed to have become even more concrete when Slot himself decided to exclude Salah from the list of summoned players for the match with Inter. Then the surprise choice, which displaced everyone: in fact, few thought they would see Salah back on the field in a Reds jersey.
It cannot be ruled out, however, that the one against Brighton could have been Salah’s swan song at Liverpool: the 33-year-old will in fact leave for the African Cup of Nations with his national team to Morocco, the host country of the continental review that will kick off next Dec. 21: Egypt is engaged in Group B with South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe.
The Pharaohs will be on the field on Dec. 22 against Zimbabwe, on the 26th against South Africa and on the 29th against Angola, also in Agadir. Instead, the knockout stage will be played in the first part of January: Egypt’s path could also affect future choices regarding Mohamed Salah.
