Liverpool head coach Arne Slot welcomed Mohamed Salah’s all-round contribution to their 3-0 victory over Brighton which secured progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The Egypt international produced a sumptuous cushioned volley to assist Dominik Szoboszlai’s powerful strike for their second before winning and scoring the penalty which ensured there was no late drama at Anfield, after Curtis Jones’ first goal in 58 matches had opened the scoring.
Salah’s goal was only his second for the club since November 1 in what has been an underwhelming season.
However, since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations – prior to which his future looked in doubt after a fall-out with Slot after being benched a number of times – the 33-year-old looks to have adapted to a different role within the side.
“It is very nice to have him on the scoresheet again, but what I like the most is he scoring goals – you can almost expect that – but he also helps the team a lot defensively and that is something very positive,” said the Liverpool boss.
After the match Salah hailed Szoboszlai, his close friend, as currently one of the best players in the world and there was no argument from Slot.
“I think there are a lot of very good to elite football players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that Dom is one of them,” added the Dutchman, who believes the Hungary captain offers a lesson to all new signings at the club.
“Dominik is great example of the model we are using at this club. We sign young players from another league, this situation Leipzig, where he was already known as a player for being really physical.
“The player we brought in was already good but where is he now, he is much better than where he was two-and-a-half years ago. That is what you get if you sign young players, give them a bit of time and let them play a lot.
“That’s why the trajectory he has been through can be the same trajectory from other players we have signed from other leagues.
“You can already see their progress but I’ve said many times that next season, the end of the season or in two seasons, players like Hugo (Ekitike) and Florian (Wirtz), because these are two that come from the Bundesliga, will be better than they are now because they’re already good players for us.”
For Brighton, it was a fourth defeat in five matches and boss Fabian Hurzeler was left to rue two good chances from Jack Hinshelwood and Diego Gomez at the end of the first half.
“Moments decided the game, unfortunately in the wrong direction,” he said.
“The goal from Liverpool came from nowhere. We had two big chances where we had to score. The second half the same.
“They had the quality to use their chances. We weren’t able to be that effective. It was a disappointing result for us.”
