Arne Slot enjoyed a pressure-relieving afternoon on Saturday as Liverpool beat Brighton at Anfield.
Not only did the Reds take away a deserved 2-0 win, but they also saw the return of Mohamed Salah following a headline-grabbing week.
It has only been one week since Salah spoke to reporters after Liverpool‘s draw against Leeds United, but it has no doubt felt like months for those involved.
Who was your man of the match during Liverpool’s impressive 2-0 win over Brighton?
Having held positive discussions with Arne Slot on Friday, Salah was brought back in from the cold for Saturday’s match.
The legendary Egyptian was handed a warm reception by the Anfield crowd, suggesting any anger over his ill-advised comments had dissipated. And with all eyes on him, Salah even managed to pick up an assist, floating over the corner to secure Hugo Ekitike‘s second goal of the game. Having set Ekitike up, Salah’s reaction said it all.
Mohamed Salah celebrates Hugo Ekitike assist
There has been plenty said and plenty written about Salah ever since his outburst at Elland Road. Much of it has not been especially complimentary.
The main argument from those unhappy with the 33-year-old’s comments have been that they were selfish, self-centred and detrimental to the team.
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However, Salah showed none of those things on Saturday. After claiming his assist – a generous act in itself – the No. 11 was seen pointing towards Ekitike.
Salah then jogged over to where the Liverpool players were celebrating and was embraced by his delighted teammates.
Curtis Jones was first over, being pictured giving Salah a double high five, with the Egypt captain beaming back.
With Salah hardly hogging the limelight and seemingly being happy to be a cog in the machine on Saturday, this does not look like an untenable situation.
How did Salah play?
Salah’s introduction came a lot earlier than anticipated on Saturday. After Joe Gomez went down with an injury inside 25 minutes, Slot turned straight to his tearaway talisman.
That gave him plenty of time to get into the action, and that is exactly what he immediately did.
As well as his assist, Salah was unlucky not to score, skying a good late chance made from brilliant play by Federico Chiesa.
But although he did not get his goal, former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock noted that Salah was at least looking sharper than he has recently.
“Mo Salah has done extremely well,” Warnock told BBC Sport. “He has had a couple of opportunities where he should and could have done better. This week will have given his confidence a knock, he will been apprehensive coming into the game. He needs to build up his confidence.”
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