There were tears in Mohamed Salah’s eyes when he applauded the Kop after the final whistle and his family were present, as requested, for what the forward had suggested could be his goodbye to Liverpool. But Anfield was not in the mood to let go. Say it ain’t so, Mo.
Did victory over toothless Brighton on Saturday really represent the end of a phenomenal Liverpool career? Only Salah knows the answer to that. Beyond question was the 33-year-old’s determination to make an impact after his 26th-minute introduction, Arne Slot’s willingness to put the team above the individual and Anfield’s appreciation for one of its greatest talents.
Salah’s name reverberated from the Kop when he entered the fray, when he delivered the corner that produced Hugo Ekitiké’s second goal and after victory was secured. Slot’s name was chanted frequently too. The message was clear: this is not the time and place for division. There is a season to save.
A desperately trying week for Slot, Salah and Liverpool ended with a merited victory over a Brighton team that created a host of excellent chances, but failed to take any. In normal circumstances Ekitiké would command the attention with two clinical finishes. Slot will also take encouragement from Liverpool keeping back-to-back clean sheets for only the third time this season. But these are not normal circumstances.
After Friday’s compromise between the Liverpool head coach and Salah this was all about how the Egypt international would sign off before the Africa Cup of Nations. He missed a gilt-edged chance from Federico Chiesa’s pass and overhit a through ball towards Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson in the dying seconds, but otherwise this was confirmation Salah still has much to offer Liverpool. But that was never in doubt.
Liverpool made the perfect start in numerous respects for Slot. His team had previously won 11 of 13 games when scoring first this season and lost nine of 11 when conceding the opening goal. The fastest goal in the Premier League this season, at 46 seconds, was therefore an ideal platform for a team regaining stability. The benefits of Ekitiké’s emphatic early strike exceeded the mere pattern of a game. A hungry opening combined with a costly error by Yankuba Minteh enabled the focus to shift away from Salah on the bench and on to the pitch.
Minteh appeared to have extinguished Liverpool’s first attack when taking the ball off Curtis Jones, who was making his 200th appearance for his boyhood club. With time and space, the Brighton winger swept a clearance across his penalty area to Joe Gomez, whose brave first-time header dropped to Ekitiké. The France international controlled and did well to keep a thunderous shot just under the crossbar.
Minteh was not spared the wrath of his teammates, but, in fairness to the Gambia international, he did more than anyone else in a Brighton shirt to produce a first-half equaliser. The winger beat Alisson with a daisy-cutter that sailed just wide of the far post. He also put Diego Gómez through with a superb pass, but Alisson was out quickly to block the shot.
• Mo Salah (above left, congratulating Hugo Ekitiké on scoring from his corner) has 277 goal involvements for Liverpool in the Premier League (188 goals, 89 assists) – the outright record by a player for a single club in the competition, overtaking Wayne Rooney's 276 for Manchester United (183 goals, 93 assists).
• Salah also has 151 goal involvements in 155 Premier League appearances at Anfield (107 goals, 44 assists) – the joint-most by any player at a single stadium, level with Thierry Henry at Highbury (114 goals, 37 assists) and Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford (101 goals, 50 assists).
• Virgil van Dijk made his 250th Premier League appearance for Liverpool in this game – all of which have been as a starter. He is one of only two outfielders to play 250+ times for a side in the competition without any appearances as a substitute, along with Des Walker for Sheffield Wednesday (264).
Brighton had plenty of joy playing through Liverpool’s packed midfield, but the hosts carved out the clearer openings. Joe Gomez and Florian Wirtz, a vibrant presence, set up Ekitiké for shots he sent over and wide.
When the unfortunate Joe Gomez went down injured, Slot instructed Salah to strip off. It was no surprise to see Salah named among the Liverpool substitutes again after his recall – results had improved without him – but his early introduction could be seen as a show of faith from Slot before the striker departs for Afcon on Monday.
Salah entered to a rapturous reception and responded with an energetic and unselfish display. He almost created a goal for Alexis Mac Allister with his first touch and claimed a third Premier League assist of the season to quell Brighton’s attempted second-half comeback. Salah won a corner when Verbruggen spilled his shot from the edge of the penalty area. The 33-year-old took it and, while the Kop were singing Salah’s name, Ekitiké rose unmarked at the back post to head home. Salah pointed to the Kop when jogging over to join the celebrations.
Brighton should have been level before Liverpool’s second. Diego Gómez struck a post when presented with a glorious chance from Mats Wieffer’s cross while Brajan Gruda and the substitute Kaoru Mitoma also missed clear openings.
Liverpool squandered several on the counterattack, too. At least Salah was there to miss them. That phrase carried more significance than it usually would.
