It has not been an easy two months for Liverpool’s Mo Salah as he saw his country Egypt lose the African Cup of Nations final and qualification to the Qatar World Cup at the hands of Senegal led by Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane.
Having qualified for the Russia world cup in 2018 for the first time since 1990, Egypt were backed to make successive WC entries for the first time in their history while an AFCON win would have meant silverware for the first time since 2010.
But for Liverpool, Salah has had the better of Mane as the Egyptian has been having a career-best season racking up 28 goals and 10 assists across all competitions this season, while Mane has recorded 14 goals and 1 assist.
The duo’s clashes for their countries do not look to have carried over into the Liverpool camp as they have been in good spirits since returning to training.
Salah was spotted by Liverpool fans joking about during the team’s latest training session ahead of their UCL QF against Benfica.
The Egyptian was seen playing around with the squad by trying to put them off balance while stretching. But this playful act seemed to have intensified when Salah approached Greek left-back Kostas Tsimikas as fans spotted Salah shoving Tsimikas after trying to put him off balance.
Erm pic.twitter.com/QVt74SSH87
— Matt (@LegendEskimoBoy) April 4, 2022
While Tsimikas did look back at Salah with a sense of annoyance and anger, it is almost likely that the two of them were just pulling each other legs.
99% sure they were messing but why does Tsimikas look like he wants to end Mo Salah’s very existence here pic.twitter.com/XgWCV092Fx
— JOEL MATIP’S REDS (@ThoseScouseLads) April 4, 2022
In the past, Tsimikas has opened up about his great relationship with the Egyptian since his arrival at the Merseyside club in interviews.
“I think Mo is one of my best mates here. When I’ve wanted something, he has always been there to help me. He’s a fantastic player. As a person, he’s one of the best I’ve met in my life. He was always there when I needed him, to tell me what the manager wants…and we are very good friends. We spend a lot of time here in the training ground together and we have a lot of chats,” revealed Tsimikas.
This interview from last season seems to have calmed the nerves of many Liverpool supporters who would have been worried about a potential spat between the two players.
But as Salah and Tsimikas seem to share this special bond, it is almost certain that they were horsing around in training and this positive, calm attitude would be precisely what the team would be wanting from Salah as Liverpool have a season-defining week coming up.
