Mohamed Salah and Liverpool have put politics to shame by showing what a long week truly looks like. It ended with the Egyptian doing a one-man lap of honour at Anfield, an attempt to rebuild trust with the supporters after creating a ceasefire, if not a complete truce, with Arne Slot.

Over the past seven days a lot has changed, but one thing remained the same, Salah started a Premier League game on the bench, not that he needed to wait long for a chance to do his talking on the pitch. He would finish with an assist after playing 75 minutes against Brighton in a game in which he desperately wanted to score. Maybe his parade was the beginning of the end, but it felt more like the start of the apology that should continue after the Africa Cup of Nations, giving both parties space to breathe.

Dropped for the trip to Inter after his combustion at Elland Road, having sat idle while Liverpool drew at Leeds, Salah had been recalled to the squad. Criticism has been thrown at him from all angles and Liverpool supporters will have wondered if this was their last chance to see him in the flesh.

“Salah has been part of a group that has provided me with unrivalled joy as a football fan, which will be the overwhelming memory, but there will be that little asterisk now,” said Navneet Singh, a Liverpool season-ticket holder. “There’s a difference between the best and your favourite players. Robbie Fowler and John Barnes are my favourite Liverpool players. But part of the reason they’re my favourites is because they didn’t have incidents like this.”

Some supporters would have been happy if Salah had not played for the club again. At times that felt a real possibility, but he was still in red after the air was somewhat cleared on Friday by talks between Salah and Slot.

Salah’s face is at the forefront of Anfield, featuring on banners and murals, one with a crown atop his head. In a region where royalty is often dismissed, only footballing heroes deserve to be crowned, but supporters do not like it when someone thinks they are more important than the collective. Many stopped to take selfies in front of Salah’s image, possibly worried that if things deteriorated it would only take a few spray paint cans for a new hero to emerge.

The mascots were pleased to see Salah, exchanging high fives in the tunnel. He walked on to the pitch with Dominik Szoboszlai’s arm around his shoulder, before taking in the surroundings of his second home by standing alone on the edge of the penalty area. His family was in the stands.

With the expectation of a watching brief, Salah got to enjoy an intense conversation with Andy Robertson, before turning to jokes. Salah’s face was stern, and an opener after 46 seconds from Hugo Ekitiké must have made him question if he would be required. He did not need to wait long.

The sparsity of experienced substitutes brought Salah into the game in the 26th minute, replacing the injured Joe Gomez as part of a tactical rejig. The coaching instructions did not come directly from Slot, instead set-piece coach Aaron Briggs informed Salah what was required. It was not a raucous introduction, but he was more than warmly applauded when his name was announced, followed by a chorus of ‘Mo Salah running down the wing’. That song immediately came to life and Salah could have had an assist within seconds.

He brought his own high-tempo brand of energy, desperate to prove a point to his manager and using his anger to fuel his performance. Having not started the past four games, and not featured at all in the previous two, there was plenty of pent up rage Salah wanted to channel into goals, but fell short.

Federico Chiesa lined up an easy chance for Salah in injury time, only to watch his teammate fire over from close range. Salah was left on the ground, exhausted from a week that will provide a lengthy chapter in his Liverpool career.

Being at the centre of a storm is draining and Salah has felt the full effect. Using his time to praise the fans gave the impression of an admission of guilt that he committed the cardinal sin of putting himself above the team. “He will always be a legendary player here, but he might have cost himself a statue outside the ground,” Singh said.

Earning trust back from those who have idolised him will be important because even if the relationship is strained, when the Egyptian does leave, he will be desperate for it to be on better terms.

Salah was the last man to leave the pitch, but he has come back in from the cold. His comments in the mixed zone were cool, too, saying “two weeks in a row?” and smartly walking on.