Klopp says ‘everybody could see’ Mohamed Salah still has AFCON on his mind

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Jurgen Klopp says ‘everybody could see’ how Mohamed Salah was reacting to his Africa Cup of Nations disappointment when he returned to Liverpool. The Egyptian suffered a heartbreaking defeat.

Jurgen Klopp says ‘everybody could see’ that Mohamed Salah still had his Africa Cup of Nations disappointment on his mind after returning to Liverpool. Salah trained with the Reds on Tuesday, under 48 hours after losing the final to Senegal.

“We spoke, obviously, about the tournament and everything,” Klopp told a press conference on Wednesday. “He will deal with [the defeat], of course, and I hope that today will already be better.

“But yesterday, everybody could see that he still has the final in his mind.”

Despite reportedly telling Klopp that he was ‘ready’ to contribute immediately, it appears Salah hasn’t quite got over things. But then, how could he? Losing the final on penalties was heartbreaking – especially as he didn’t get to take one.

Jurgen Klopp on Mohamed Salah at Liverpool

Well, it’s to be expected, really. It was the kind of defeat that no player is really prepared for. Salah, as captain, was just a couple of kicks away from lifting a major trophy for his country. It doesn’t really get more heartbreaking than that.

But he’s been here before. Salah lost the 2018 UEFA Champions League final in awful circumstances, leaving the pitch with an injury. He rebounded with his team, however, and lifted the trophy the following year.

And perhaps he can set his mind on that. AFCON will come around again quickly – next year, in fact – and Salah gets his chance to correct things quickly.

As for Thursday, we imagine his mentality on Wednesday will play a huge part in whether Klopp starts him. We’d love to see Salah slide right back into the XI – but he needs to be ready.