Mohamed Salah returned to the lineup for Liverpool last night, in their 3-0 win over Marseille in the UEFA Champions League. Mo Salah, back from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt, started for the Reds, and he’s now fully re-integrated into the team.
In other words, all that speculation that he was on his way out of Anfield this January transfer window…all for nothing. He’s staying put for now.
Liverpool FC at AFC Bournemouth FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Jan 24, 5:30pm, The Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, UK
Google Result Probability: Liverpool FC 50% Draw 24% AFC Bournemouth 26%
Premier League Form, Standing: Liverpool FC 4th, 36 pts, WDDDD AFC Bournemouth 15th, 27 pts LDLWD
Reds Team News
Given all the public feuding that went on in December, between Salah and the club, it was thought he could leave for the Saudi Pro League in the winter window.
However, he’ll be with the Merseyside club until the end of the season.
“It helps he is already for so long with us so he knows his teammates and he knows how we want to play,” Reds boss Arne Slot said in his post game press conference.
“It says a lot about how big of a professional he is that being away from us for a month in a different team, he was so fit to play 90 today.”
The only other Liverpool team news item, for Saturday’s match, relates to Federico Chiesa.
The Italian winger is a 50/50 proposition for this weekend, after missing out on Wednesday night. However, it sounds like his unspecified injury issue is not a serious one.
“‘Two or three minutes after you guys left [on Tuesday], he stepped out of the training session,” Slot said, as he explained Chiesa’s absence.
“We took him with us because we don’t expect it to be a long-term injury… We were hoping that maybe he would have been fit in time. But he wasn’t. He tried in the warm-up, but he wasn’t able to play.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.