Can Liverpool keep winning once Salah leaves for AFCON?

LIVERPOOL, England — Before flying to the Ivory Coast for a six-week African Cup of Nations with Egypt, Salah signed with two goals and an assist as Liverpool beat Newcastle United 4-2 at Anfield, moving three points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The 31-year-old would have said goodbye with a hat-trick had his first-half penalty not been saved by goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka.

Liverpool are about to find out what life is like without Mohamed Salah – and the timing couldn't be worse for manager Jurgen Klopp and his title-chasing side.

Every club has its essential players, but none are more important than Salah to Liverpool. Manchester City got rid of prolific goalscorer Erling Haaland during his recent injury layoff, remaining unbeaten in their last seven games without him, and Klopp's side must now do the same without Salah.

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With champions Man City five points behind Liverpool, with a game in hand, it seems clear that we are set for a resumption of the intense rivalry between the two clubs in the second half of the season, with both knowing that everything skidding will lunge at each other.

So, just when Liverpool need to put their foot on the pedal and increase the pressure on City – and their other title contenders, Aston Villa and Arsenal – the Gunners must prepare to be without their talisman for up to six weeks. If Egypt qualifies for the CAN final in Abidjan on February 11, Salah will miss four Premier League matches, including a trip to Arsenal on February 4.

As the most successful nation in AFCON history with seven titles and having reached two of the last three finals, it would be unrealistic to expect Egypt to be eliminated early enough for Salah to return to football club before mid-February. Now it's up to Darwin Núñez, Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz and Cody Gakpo to prove they can fill the void.

“I want to win,” Salah said when asked about his CAN commitments. “It means a lot to play for the national team. It's something I can't take for granted. I would love to win it.”

After rejecting a £150m bid for the striker from Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad in August, Liverpool have assured Salah will stay at Anfield and play a central role in their bid to win the title Premier League this season. But there are fears within Anfield that Al Ittihad could be back this summer with another huge offer that proves too big for the club and player to turn down as Salah enters the final year of his contract with Liverpool at the end of the season.

But the appeal of keeping Salah earlier this season has been borne out by his contribution so far this campaign. His goals against Newcastle on Monday took him to 14 in the league, making him the league's top scorer alongside City's Haaland, and Salah also took his assist total to eight after dispatching Gakpo with a cross stylish with the exterior of his boot. in the second half.

“He’s a scoring machine,” Klopp said of Salah. “He will never stop doing these things.”

Salah is Liverpool's vanguard but also its creator-in-chief. Only Nunez, with six, comes close to Salah's assist total – no one at Anfield comes close to his goal tally. Salah is now tied with Ollie Watkins for the most assists in the Premier League this season.

But Salah's reliability is now an issue Klopp must overcome. Between them, Liverpool's other attackers have a combined 16 league goals and nine assists this season. These aren't unimpressive numbers, but when you're chasing a title, especially when you're trying to keep a team as ruthless as Man City at bay, you need every advantage and being without Salah is a huge disadvantage for Liverpool.

The only positive for Klopp and his team is that the month of January is largely devoted to domestic cup matches: Liverpool have only two league matches left this month, at Bournemouth and at home against Chelsea, before face Arsenal and Burnley in early February. By the time Salah is definitely expected to be back for the trip to Brentford on February 17, who knows where Liverpool will be in the title race?

Salah dominated Monday's match against Newcastle. Dubravka also stood out, including saving Salah's penalty, but the Newcastle goalkeeper was unable to prevent the crimson tide as Salah's double and strikes from Gakpo and Curtis Jones sealed the victory, with Alexander Isak and Sven Botman on the scoresheet for Newcastle.

Whether Salah should have had the opportunity to score his second goal and redeem himself with another penalty is debatable as Jota won the penalty after a delayed fall following the slightest touch from Dubravka. But despite the decision angering Newcastle manager Eddie Howe – “It shouldn't be given; he (Jota) took two steps before he came down,” Howe said – it was not an incident that influenced the result of the match.

Salah was the deciding factor against Newcastle. He scored when it counted and stepped up when his team needed him most. This is what Salah has always done, so there is no doubt that Liverpool will struggle to get by without him over the next six weeks.