Mohamed Salah returned from his exploits at AFCON shortly before Liverpool took off for Champions League action in France, but the Egyptian nonetheless managed a productive (if quiet) 90 minutes for the Reds. Asked if Salah would be available to go again at the weekend against Bournemouth in the Premier League, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot highlighted a quality we know well:
“Mo played 90 minutes and [on Thursday] we had a recovery session, we trained today and knowing Mo he is ready to play tomorrow.
But he, like all the others, have a training session to go and then I will decide on the line-up.”
Though unwilling to share his own internal decision-making, Slot nonetheless confirmed the player’s readiness, with Salah one of the most remarkably fit players in the modern era of the sport. Though this season has been a fraught one — including some minor injury absences — the small matter of a major international tournament will surely not keep the tireless winger away from domestic action. (We can certainly concede that less added time in Egypt’s matches and a slightly shorter trip than in previous competitions likely helped.)
As for this weekend’s match: Mohamed Salah is the outright top scorer against Bournemouth in the Premier League, managing 12 goals in 12 appearances (all starts) against the Cherries. In his pre-Bournemouth press conference, Slot was asked whether this positive record would impact his line-up decisions, but the Liverpool boss refused the premise, instead highlighting Salah’s goalscoring record more generally:
“Mo has scored a lot of goals against any team in the Premier League,” Slot said, before reminding those present of his fitness. It is always worth remembering that Mohamed Salah has scored his most Premier League goals against…Manchester United.
