After a disappointing AFCON exit, Mohamed Salah has returned to Liverpool and has made sure to relay a message to Arne Slot.
Liverpool are unbeaten since Salah left for AFCON, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been missed.
That unbeaten run sounds a lot better until you look at the results, where it’s clear Slot is missing a clinical edge to his side’s attack.
What’s Liverpool’s best front three now that Salah’s back?
With Florian Wirtz in the 10 🔥
Jamie Carragher thinks Salah is the solution, despite having plenty of criticism for the Egyptian before he flew off to Morocco last month.
If he is right, then what Salah has made a point of saying can only be considered good news.
Mohamed Salah has told Arne Slot he’s ready to play after AFCON return
Salah’s last game of the tournament was a loss to Nigeria in the third-place play-off that preceded a bonkers AFCON final.
Four days later, he is in the squad travelling to Marseille, and he has every intention of seeing the pitch.
As James Pearce revealed in The Athletic: “Salah had made it clear he didn’t need a break after five weeks on international duty in Morocco ended with defeat to Nigeria on penalties in last Saturday’s third-place play-off, and that was music to Slot’s ears.”
During Slot’s ‘weird’ press conference on Tuesday, he sounded like he was happy to have last season’s best player added back to Liverpool’s ranks, and Pearce’s reveal supports that claim.
Salah and Slot have had an up-and-down relationship this season, but it would be best for everyone if bridges can be mended.
What Arne Slot said about Salah before Marseille
Ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash with Marseille, Slot was of course asked about the current state of play with Salah.
The best possible XI Slot can pick to get Liverpool fans back on side vs Marseille ⬇️
The Dutchman’s response is yet another sign that the tension has eased.
He responded (via Liverpool FC): “I’m really happy and pleased that he’s back. In his absence, we’ve done really okay in hardly conceding a chance, and we’ve started to create more, and now we’re creating more chances, it’s really helpful to have a player like Mo Salah.
“There’s only been one player who has scored more, but I can’t play Ian Rush. We will never know, but the number of chances and ball possession against Burnley, with Mo on the pitch, would usually mean we would score more.”
Salah wants to get straight back to it and continue his hot AFCON form. Hopefully, we see him on the team sheet as Liverpool look to finish out their last two league phase fixtures convincingly.
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