Micah Richards outlines what he noticed about Salah after coming on against Brighton on Saturday
When Mo Salah replaced Joe Gomez 25 minutes into Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday, it was no ordinary substitution.
It was the Egyptian’s first time on the pitch since his explosive public outburst a week earlier which led to borderline character assassination from some pundits and much speculation as to whether he may have already played his final match for the Merseyside club.
Whatever external doubts there may have been over his standing among the fans were promptly eliminated as he was given a rousing reception upon his introduction at Anfield, and his performance laid to rest any possibility of accusations that he’d simply go through the motions.
Richards: Salah looked sharp on Saturday
Salah’s ex-Fiorentina teammate Micah Richards was keen to praise the Egyptian’s efforts on Saturday, particularly in light of criticism from elswhere over the 33-year-old’s work rate and vastly reduced goal output his season (just five so far).
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, the pundit said: “The most important thing [was] he looked sharp when he came on. He should’ve scored, [but] the bigger picture is that there were question marks as to whether he still had that electric pace, and he does.
“Maybe [he’s] not at the consistency of previous seasons, but from a football point of view, it was like, ‘Salah looks very sharp here; we could’ve seen this a bit more during the season’. That was my takeaway.
“He’s not gonna go on there and have a stinker, is he? He’s gonna be running around. He’s gonna be energetic. I never doubted it. I just think he was going through a spell where he wasn’t scoring.
“Mo Salah makes your team better. He was going through a ball spell – end of.”
Salah put in his best performance for some time
Even Salah’s most ardent backers would admit that the legendary Egyptian has been a shadow of himself this season in comparison to his previous campaigns at Liverpool, but the winger turned in his liveliest display for some time in the win over Brighton.
Almost as soon as he came on, he charged at the visitors’ defence to tee up a chance for Alexis Mac Allister, and it was from his corner kick that Hugo Ekitike doubled the Reds’ lead on the hour mark.
There were a couple of minor late blemishes (the missed sitter when set up by Federico Chiesa, and an overhit pass when he tried to play Andy Robertson through on goal), but on the whole it was a throwback to the effervescent forward that we’ve seen so many times over the past decade.
In one way it’s a shame that, after such a lively display, Salah won’t play for Liverpool until he returns from the Africa Cup of Nations next month. However, it was evident on Saturday that the fire still burns bright within him and he’s not merely living off his reputation at Anfield.
The 33-year-old demonstrably showed that he’s still all-in at LFC, and that can only be a good thing for the Reds as they showed a clear united front on the pitch in both of their wins over the past week.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Brighton press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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