Maybe this wasn’t Mohamed Salah’s curtain call at Anfield after all.
The script felt pre-written long before kick-off. Liverpool vs Brighton wasn’t just another league fixture; it was supposed to be a farewell tour.
After speaking out of turn and being left behind for the Champions League trip to Inter Milan, the narrative was clear: Salah was done.
One last bow in red, off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, then perhaps a sun-soaked Saudi payday. After that? Highlights on YouTube and a distant reappearance at the World Cup.
Except football rarely sticks to the script.
Liverpool won 2–0, and Salah didn’t just feature; he mattered.
Arne Slot insisted beforehand that he wanted Salah to stay. Maybe that was diplomacy. But actions, as ever, spoke louder than words. With Liverpool leading thanks to Hugo Ekitike’s first-minute strike, disaster struck when Joe Gomez limped off after just 26 minutes. Slot’s response was telling.
Instead of reshuffling conservatively or saving Salah for a sentimental late cameo, he threw him into the fray. Dominik Szoboszlai was dropped into an unfamiliar right-back role, and Salah was unleashed.
Yes, options were limited. Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong were unavailable. But Slot still had alternatives. Andy Robertson could have switched flanks. Calvin Ramsay was on the bench. Federico Chiesa could have come on, keeping Salah wrapped in bubble wrap for a symbolic goodbye.
Slot chose none of that.
You don’t make that call if you think you’ll never coach a player again.
Salah responded exactly how leaders do. He teed up Ekitike for Liverpool’s second goal and created further chances that underlined a simple truth: this is not a player in decline, not a legend fading quietly into the background. This is still a difference-maker.
Could the big offer still come? Of course. If someone arrives with a suitcase full of cash and it’s enough to tempt Salah, Liverpool will listen. Sunshine, financial security, and a clear runway to the World Cup remain powerful lures. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that if this move was inevitable, it would already have happened. Salah only renewed his contract last April. A buyer could have avoided a transfer fee altogether.
If Salah does leave now, it means multiple parties misread the situation—Salah misjudging his role, Slot misjudging how to integrate him, and Liverpool misjudging the entire project. People don’t like being wrong. Clubs least of all.
Lost in the noise was the bigger picture. Liverpool claimed back-to-back league wins for the first time in six weeks.
They weren’t perfect; defensive issues remain, and the balance of the front four is still a work in progress, but there were clear positives. Ekitike looked sharp and hungry.
The mood was healthier. Florian Wirtz enjoyed minutes wide on the left, perhaps a glimpse of where he fits long-term in Slot’s 4-2-3-1.
Joint fifth in the table, momentum quietly building, and Mohamed Salah still setting the tone.
If this was meant to be the end, it didn’t feel like one.
