By: Osabuohien Imuetinyanosa
Mohamed Salah after his significantly unused periods by head coach Slot now has he claimed the record for the most Premier League goal involvements for a single club on his return to Liverpool’s squad, assisting one of Hugo Ekitike’s two goals in a 2-0 win over Brighton.
Having held clear-the-air talks with Arne Slot on Friday following a public spat with his head coach, Salah was named on the bench at Anfield and was called for after just 26 minutes.
He replaced the injured Joe Gomez, who had earlier assisted the quickest Premier League goal of the season to date. The defender nodded a sliced clearance from Yankuba Minteh down to Ekitike, who took a wonderful touch before lashing into the roof of the net.
Minteh looked to atone for that error, curling past the far post and threading a wonderful pass through for Diego Gomez, who saw his effort smothered by Alisson.
But Liverpool were the more dangerous side throughout the first half, with one flowing move involving Salah culminating in a wayward effort from Ekitike.
Brighton improved in the early stages of the second half, with Diego Gomez striking the post from Mats Wieffer’s cross before Brajan Gruda sent a shot skipping past the far post.
However, Liverpool made the points safe on the hour mark, with Ekitike left completely unmarked from Salah’s inswinging corner to nod home at the back post.
Salah equalled the single-season record for Premier League goal involvements during Liverpool’s 2024-25 title-winning campaign, but on Saturday, he took another record outright.
He now has 188 goals and 89 assists for Liverpool in the competition, overtaking Wayne Rooney (276 for Manchester United) for the most for a single club.
Salah had been an unused substitute in two of Liverpool’s previous three Premier League games, having only been an unused substitute three times in his first 303 matchday squad appearances for the Reds.
This was a triumphant return for Salah, but Ekitike was Liverpool’s star performer on the day with his second straight brace in the Premier League (also versus Leeds United last week).
His opener was Liverpool’s first goal in the opening minute of a Premier League game since Naby Keita netted their fastest ever goal in the competition in April 2019, after 15 seconds versus Huddersfield Town.
Goals Summary:
Premier league
2 – 0
Hugo Ekitiké (1′)
Hugo Ekitiké (60′)
