Egypt forward Mohamed Salah completes first stage of rehabilitation at Liverpool returned to the team They beat Brighton 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
The question now for Salah heading into the Africa Cup of Nations is whether he has a future at Anfield when he returns.
Salah, who Let’s tear it apart The player, who spoke last weekend about his current frustrations at Liverpool, came on as a substitute in the 26th minute to a huge ovation and set up Hugo Ekitike’s second goal as the defending champions extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games.
Also on Saturday, Chelsea beat Everton 2-0, with Cole Palmer’s first goal in three months propelling them to victory. First-placed Arsenal will then host bottom-placed Wolverhampton.
enthusiastic welcome
Salah met with Liverpool manager Arne Slott on Friday to try to resolve the issue, which resulted in Salah being recalled to the matchday squad for the game against Brighton. He had been substituted in the last three Premier League games as punishment for his explosive comments to reporters last weekend, but was left at home for the midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan.
Liverpool fans showed they were willing to forgive Salah for his display of anger, giving a rapturous reception when he came on as a substitute for the injured Joe Gomez midway through the first half.
Liverpool were 1-0 up at that point thanks to Ekitike’s stand-up shot within the first minute, and Salah showed his class, especially on the counter-attack. Ekitike scored his second goal in the 60th minute when he headed home Salah’s corner kick, sparking another round of chants for the Egyptian.
If Egypt wins the Africa Cup, Salah could be out for more than a month.
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Steve Douglas is https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
