Mohamed Salah returned to Arne Slott’s Liverpool squad on Saturday afternoon to face Brighton in the Premier League, despite a frosty assessment of his relationship with the manager last weekend.
Mohamed Salah broke Wayne Rooney’s record for most goal involvements for a single club in Liverpool’s game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. The Egyptian started on the bench for the fourth consecutive Premier League game after falling out of favor under Arne Slott.
But midway through the first half, the 33-year-old was called up to replace the ailing Joe Gomez, as Liverpool fans inside Anfield greeted him with applause. Already leading 1-0 after Hugo Ekitike’s opening goal in the first minute, Salah assisted the Frenchman’s brace in the second half, taking his total single-club goal involvement in the Premier League to 277 (188 goals and 89 assists).
The assist took Rooney to 183 goals and 93 assists during his time at Manchester United, also breaking the long-standing record of 276 goal involvements. However, he is still third on the list in terms of goal involvement with multiple clubs, still far behind Alan Shearer’s 324 goals and Rooney’s 311 for United and Everton.
read more: Premier League explains controversial red card decision in Liverpool vs. Brightonread more: Mo Salah receives huge applause on return to Liverpool after fury
It comes after Liverpool fans made their feelings about Salah’s current situation clear on Saturday afternoon. The Egyptian gave a scathing assessment of his relationship with Slott following the Reds’ 3-3 draw with Leeds United last weekend.
Tensions were already high before kick-off, with Salah being relegated to the bench for the third consecutive Premier League game. After the match, Salah spoke to reporters about his frustration at not being able to land a punch.
He said: “I don’t know what to say. It was kind of funny and I couldn’t believe it. It’s a disappointing result for the team. We conceded a stupid goal. I was on the bench so I couldn’t help my teammates. I couldn’t believe I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes.”
“This is the third time this has happened. I think this is the first time in my career. It’s very disappointing. I’ve done a lot for this club over the years, especially last season, and it seems like the club has thrown me under the bus.”
“That’s how I feel. Someone is trying to put all the blame on me. The club promised me a lot in the summer and now that I’m on the bench I can say they haven’t kept their promises.”
“I used to have a good relationship (with Slott). Now I don’t. I don’t know why. It seems like (someone) doesn’t want me at the club.”
Salah also hinted that the game against Brighton could be his last as a Liverpool player, despite only signing a contract extension with the club earlier this year. He added: “I called my mum and dad and told them to come to the Brighton game.
“It doesn’t matter whether I play or not. I’m going to enjoy it. I’m just going to Anfield before the Africa Cup of Nations and saying goodbye to the fans because you never know what’s going to happen when you’re there.”
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“It’s not acceptable to me to be fair. If I were elsewhere, every club would protect their players. Now it’s ‘Mo has a problem in the team, throw him under the bus’. I don’t think there’s a problem.”
“Just because I earned my position doesn’t mean I’m fighting for my position every day. I’m not bigger than the club, I’m not better than anything. But I earned it.”
Salah will now team up with his national team-mates to participate in the AFCON, which runs until mid-January. And with the January transfer window just around the corner, it is unclear whether the forward, who has spent the past eight years of his career on Merseyside, will still be at the club come February 1.
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