Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah scored in the 91st minute as Egypt defeated Zimbabwe 2-1 in their Africa Cup of Nations opener, with Erling Haaland responding on social media.
Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland has reached out to Mohamed Salah after the Liverpool player ended his goal drought. Salah broke his duck on Monday evening, netting a dramatic 91st-minute winner as Egypt came from behind to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in their Africa Cup of Nations opener.
That crucial strike was Salah’s first goal since early November, when he last scored during Liverpool’s 2-0 Premier League win against Aston Villa. Following the final whistle, Salah maintained what’s now the forward’s customary practice of posting celebratory images with fellow goal-scorers on social media platform Instagram.
He shared a photograph featuring himself alongside Manchester City player Omar Marmoush. The post caught the attention of Haaland, who plays alongside Marmoush at the Etihad Stadium.
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The Norwegian responded: “Salam Brusjans”, meaning ‘peace brothers’, accompanied by a thumbs up emoji. Salah linked up with the Egypt squad just days after a revealing interview that cast uncertainty over his Anfield future.
Despite being omitted from the Champions League squad, the winger did feature as a substitute against Brighton before departing for international duty.
Prior to Egypt’s clash with Zimbabwe, manager Hossam Hassan offered an upbeat assessment of Mohamed Salah’s current form.
“Whenever Salah’s performances dip with his club, he regains strength with the national team and becomes even better, whether by contributing goals or scoring himself,” he said.
“Then he returns to his club even stronger. Salah’s morale in training is very high, as if he were just starting out with the national team, and I believe he will have a great tournament with his country I feel his motivation is very, very strong.
“Salah is an icon and will remain so. He’s one of the best players in the world, I support everything he does.
“I don’t consider what happened to him to be a crisis. These things often happen between players and coaches.
“We’ve been in contact with him by phone from the beginning, and I met with him when he joined the national team camp. His focus is entirely on the tournament.”
The Pharaohs return to the pitch on Boxing Day for their group stage match against South Africa, before facing Angola in their final group fixture on Monday, 29 December (4pm).
Meanwhile, Liverpool are back in Premier League action on Saturday, 27 December (3pm kick-off) when they welcome rock-bottom Wolves to Anfield. The visitors are still searching for their first league victory this season.
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