Mohamed Salah was claimed to be “in a strop” following Liverpool’s 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, but Thursday’s news brought a change in the narrative.
Liverpool’s tight turnaround and Salah claim quashed
Salah attracted headlines on Wednesday night after, having squandered more chances against Frankfurt, he removed references to Liverpool from his X profile.
While the motivation behind that change is unclear, further claims around the Egyptian have since been debunked.
The Mail‘s Lewis Steele initially reported on X that Salah had headed straight down the tunnel at full-time at Deutsch Bank Park, suggesting he was “in a strop.”
Will get grief in the replies but worth noting Mo Salah clapped the fans before being quick down the tunnel last night. A since-deleted tweet I did suggested he was *straight* down the tunnel as that’s what I saw. I missed him clapping. Apologies, must do better ?? pic.twitter.com/gElmNc30JS
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) October 23, 2025
Steele has since retracted that claim, with Liverpool’s No. 11 pictured waving to supporters in the away end before heading off the pitch.
There was no real rush for Arne Slot and his players either way, as the Reds were required to stay in Germany overnight due to awkward airline rules.
This Is Anfield‘s Keifer MacDonald reported on Thursday that Liverpool instead flew to John Lennon Airport in the morning, meaning they face a tight turnaround for Saturday’s clash with Brentford.
Slot will hold his pre-match press conference at the AXA Training Centre at 10.30am on Friday, with the squad then training before travelling to west London later in the day.
It means Liverpool will barely have been on Merseyside for 24 hours in between two away fixtures – and Brentford promises to be a tough task.
Read more on Liverpool’s travel issues here
Today’s Liverpool FC News
• Virgil van Dijk has revealed he called a ‘players only’ meeting following the loss to Man United, explaining that he “wanted to say some things”
• Curtis Jones set a new Champions League record for Liverpool with his pass-happy display in midweek
• Liverpool quietly avoided another right-back blow after Jeremie Frimpong‘s injury in Frankfurt
• Salah is up for award he has somehow not won since 2018 – as one of 10 nominees for the African Footballer of the Year
More from This Is Anfield
Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai showed Slot how to build his midfield with their display at Frankfurt, writes Jack Lusby:
“Despite fielding two strikers, a left winger and a No. 10, as well as introducing Federico Chiesa for Isak at half-time to stick with his 4-2-4, there was less of a sense of chaos about Slot’s setup in Frankfurt.
“Liverpool had 65 percent possession – similar to that seen against Palace (72%), Galatasaray (67%) and United (64%) – but instructing Jones and Szoboszlai to ‘be a bit more defensive-minded’ led to fewer turnovers, and therefore fewer chances for the opposition.
[…]
“Even if the 4-2-4 makes way for the usual 4-2-3-1 again, it is clear that a return to control and composure in the engine room is essential.”
READ: How Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones showed Arne Slot how to build his midfield
Elsewhere in the football world today
• Despite earlier claims ex-Liverpool midfielder Thiago would step in to manage Barcelona for El Clasico on Sunday, that duty is expected to go to Hansi Flick’s assistant Marcus Sorg (Mundo Deportivo)
• Man City left-back Josko Gvardiol has revealed he almost quit football as a teenager to pursue a career as a basketball player (BBC Sport)
• Ex-Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech has returned to his native Morocco to sign for Wydad AC, giving up his top-level career in Europe at 32
Liverpool FC: On this day
Three notable figures from Liverpool’s history were born on October 23: David Johnson (1951), Fabinho (1993) and Sander Westerveld (1974).
The former, a Scouser from Halewood, signed for a club record fee of £200,000 in 1976 and went on to win three league titles plus the European Cup, playing up front for the Reds.
Johnson sadly passed away in 2022 and has since been honoured with a mural on the corner of Back Rockfield Road and Blessington Road in Anfield.
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