Liverpool now have a better idea of when their star player, Mohamed Salah, will return from the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, following Egypt’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Ivory Coast on Saturday evening. Salah was once again on target for the Pharaohs, setting up a semi-final showdown with Sadio Mane’s Senegal. Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush put Egypt ahead, before Rami Rabia, assisted by Salah, doubled their lead. Ivory Coast managed to claw one back just before the break, but Salah found the net in the 52nd minute to restore Egypt’s two-goal cushion.
Despite Guela Doue scoring another goal for Ivory Coast, Hossam Hassan’s team held firm to book their place in the semi-final. The semi-final is set for Wednesday afternoon (5pm UK time), with Salah hoping to steer Egypt into the final. If they fall to Senegal, they will stay in Morocco for a third-place play-off, scheduled for Saturday, January 17. If Egypt emerge victorious in the semi-final, they will compete in the final on Sunday, January 18.
This means that Salah is guaranteed to miss Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Burnley next weekend.
Regardless of the result against Senegal, Salah will be available for selection for Liverpool’s Champions League match against Marseille. Arne Slot’s side are due to jet off to France on Wednesday, January 21, which is the first game after AFCON.
However, should Egypt emerge victorious, the subsequent festivities may postpone Salah’s availability for the fixture in France. In that scenario, his comeback would most probably be the away trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, 24 January.
The Reds will be desperate for Salah’s presence following three successive draws. Whilst they managed wins against Tottenham and Wolves in his absence, Liverpool have failed to claim victory in their previous three outings.
A scoreless stalemate at Anfield against Leeds was succeeded by a 2-2 draw at Fulham, courtesy of Harrison Reed’s remarkable injury-time effort. Liverpool then registered another 0-0 result on the road at Arsenal, though injuries to Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike have left Slot’s forward line considerably weakened.
“I find it really hard to hear but I would not completely disagree,” Slot responded when questioned whether his side’s style had become tedious. “I would use different words and I would take certain things into account.
“I want to win as many trophies as I can, but I think I am also known for the fact that my teams always try to play attacking football and I can only say they’re trying to do so. We are struggling to create a lot of chances.
“But I’ve said many times, we are not the only team that struggles to create a lot of chances. I don’t like to hear this [boring label], of course. I would like us winning a lot of games, but also playing an attractive style of football which we have done this season.
“We have to find a way against teams [who play] in not an attractive way, which is, of course, maybe even smart for them to do. We have to find answers to that. We haven’t found enough yet, but we are working on that every single day to improve on that.”