Mohamed Salah came on from the bench and provided the assist for Hugo Ekitike’s second goal to get Liverpool back to winning ways.
Mohamed Salah returned to action after an outburst that put his future at the Premier League champions in doubt, but he scored as Liverpool won 2-0 against Brighton.
The Egyptian forward, who had been the subject of intense scrutiny in the run-up to the game at Anfield, came off the substitute bench in the 26th minute on Saturday to great cheers, replacing injured defender Joe Gomez.
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The home side, whose title defense collapsed with the shock result, were leading 1-0 at the time, with French forward Hugo Ekitike scoring just 46 seconds later.
Brighton squandered a number of chances to equalize, but Ekitike scored again with 30 minutes remaining, giving Liverpool some breathing room.
Salah accused Liverpool of “throwing him under the bus” after he was left on the bench against Leeds last week. Salah has now been selected as a substitute for three games in a row.
He also said he had no relationship with coach Arne Slott.
Salah did not take part in Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League win over Inter Milan in midweek and posted a photo of himself alone in the gym on social media.
Slott said in Friday’s pre-match press conference that he would speak to the forward later in the day, adding: “There’s no reason we wouldn’t want him to stay.”
Salah didn’t have to wait too long to be replaced, much to the delight of Liverpool fans.
In the run-up to Saturday’s game, there was feverish speculation about what role Salah would play, with the winger on the bench.
Liverpool, who had won just two of their 10 Premier League games prior to the Brighton game, got off to a great start with Joe Gomez taking the lead in the first minute when he scored an ekitike and smashed the ball past Bad Verbruggen.
Salah came on about 20 minutes before half-time when Gomez was removed.
Brighton’s Diego Gomez missed a good opportunity to equalize early in the second half when he hit the ball off the outside of the post, and Brajan Gruda also came close to scoring as the home crowd chanted Salah’s name.
Liverpool doubled their lead in the 60th minute when Ekitike converted a corner kick for the hosts Salah to score their second goal.
Salah himself came close to scoring from Federico Chiesa’s shot in stoppage time, but his shot was deflected away.
The victory moves Slott’s side into sixth place in the table ahead of kick-off later on Saturday, taking pressure off the embattled manager.
Will Salah leave Liverpool for AFCON or permanently?
Salah signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool in April and is set to depart for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The length of his absence will depend on how far Egypt progresses in the Morocco tournament, where the final will be played on January 18th.
The forward, who is linked with a move to the lucrative Saudi Professional League, had invited his family to the Brighton game amid speculation over his future.
“I’m going to Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and I’m going to the Africa Cup,” he told reporters last week. “You never know what’s going to happen when you’re there.”
Salah, who is third on Liverpool’s all-time scoring list with 250 goals, won two Premier League titles and one Champions League during his time on Merseyside.
He scored 29 goals in the Premier League last season as Liverpool cruised to their 20th English league title, but this season he has scored just four.
