There should be a clinical assessment of whether it is worth paying £400,000 a week to keep the talismanic EgyptianThe immediate thought is that it cannot happen. Mohamed Salah, the embodiment of this glorious period of Liverpool’s history, cannot be allowed to leave: the club have to give him whatever he wants. Just make sure he stays, keeps rattling along at 20-odd goals a season, many of which will be stunning, keeps delighting both fans and neutrals with his verve and imagination.But the immediate thought may not be entirely helpful: no player is ever irreplaceable. Of course, there is a sentimental appeal to the idea that a player and a club have a special relationship, particularly when that player has...
Billing Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final as a clash of Salah and Mané misses the wider point in a shambolic tournamentMohamed Salah against Sadio Mané, two great Liverpool forwards going head-to-head in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final. It’s the headline clash of Egypt against Senegal, the meeting of the most successful side in African history and a team that has never lifted the trophy. But to focus on them would be misleading: although both have had an influence late in games, neither Senegal nor Egypt could be said to be teams based around their attacking talent.There is an unavoidable sense that even to focus on the football is itself uncomfortable, given the tragic events of a fortnight ago...
The forward was wayward in his finishing at times in the win over Aston Villa but his equaliser underlines his importanceWith 13 minutes played at Anfield, Mohamed Salah was presented with a chance to score for Liverpool after a glaring error by Tyrone Mings but, with only Emiliano Martínez to beat, he poked his shot wide.With 51 minutes played at Anfield, Mohamed Salah was presented with a chance to score for Liverpool following a pass by Georginio Wijnaldum but, despite having a reasonable amount of time and space inside the area, he dragged his shot and, via a deflection, saw it dribble out for a corner. Related: Alexander-Arnold’s late winner caps Liverpool comeback to sink Aston Villa Related: Top-four tussle:...
Sergio Ramos’s injury limits score-settling from the 2018 Champions League final but there’s a season on the lineMohamed Salah did not disclose much in an interview with Marca last week but enough to let the Spanish sports daily with close ties to Real Madrid know that, yes, he is open to playing in La Liga one day and, yes, there is “special motivation” for Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday. A reunion with the Spanish champions is one he and Liverpool have craved since their agonising night in Kyiv in 2018.There will be no opportunity to exact personal revenge on Sergio Ramos with the Real captain sidelined by injury, but there always was more to a tie with major implications...
Top finishers are a varied bunch, from classic or false 9s to target men and wide-rangers who cut in to score – and adapting teams to match their gifts is what makes the best sides tickAs Arsenal’s rebuild under Mikel Arteta has stalled over the past few weeks, one of the most common quick-fixes suggested has been to move Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the left into the middle. He’s a goalscorer, runs the argument, so you need to put him in the middle, nearer the goal. Which, frankly, is the equivalent of those Victorian doctors who believed malaria was caused by the bad air around swamps – the theory isn’t entirely unrelated to the reality, but a series of vital stages...