Mohamed Salah unusual outburst spoke volumes as Liverpool superhero becomes vulnerable
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(Image: 2025 Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA)Liverpool were barely 90 minutes into the defence of their Premier League crown when the image that could yet come to define their season was taken at Anfield.
The sight of a visibly moved Mohamed Salah clapping appreciatively in front of the Kop, caught at an awkward junction somewhere between celebration and mourning as he marked his first goal of the new term, was a powerful one.
And on a night of heightened emotion as Anfield paid its first tribute to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, on August 15 as Bournemouth were seen off 4-2, the snaps of Salah were the abiding shots.
Here was Liverpool's superhero, in a rare moment of relatable vulnerability, the mask slipping just a touch; the cape loosening ever so slightly.
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"It was quite tricky for me because I didn't prepare myself for that," Salah explained to Men In Blazers recently of the incident.
Devastating for his family first and foremost but obviously devastating for us as a group of lads.
"It puts life into perspective as to what's important - spending time with your family, spending time with your kids, because you never know what's around the corner.
"It's the toughest thing we'll ever go through.
Losing one of your closest mates for me was hugely difficult and it's something we'll probably never get over but it's just something that we have to carry with us."
Salah, perhaps more than anyone else right now, is still seemingly struggling to emerge from under the cloud of Jota's sudden and shock death.
On the pitch, it's been a sluggish start, despite the goal against Bournemouth, but the evidence is more obvious in his off-field activity.
The irascible response to a fan account on social media this week that blasted the 'disrespect' shown towards Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez was hugely out of character for a player who knows how much weight his words carry online.
While the Reds star was entirely within his rights to demand more acclaim for his outgoing colleagues, the outburst was nonetheless unusual.
It's been a remarkable turnover of playing staff with 10 players in and nine out, many of whom were his good friends, who have all moved on to new challenges having secured the Premier League title in such swashbuckling fashion just a few months.
And if the 33-year-old is finding it difficult to adapt to the changing face of Arne Slot's squad, it would be entirely understandable if he is also still grieving the loss of his friend Jota, whose death made the man so affectionately known as the 'Egyptian King' admit he was fearful of even returning to Merseyside back in July.
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In a more purely football sense, Salah conceded recently that he is still learning to play alongside new arrivals such as Hugo Ekitike and with Alexander Isak now added to the ranks alongside Florian Wirtz, it might take some tactical tweaks and work behind the scenes to properly build up the relationships like those he shared with Diaz and in particular Nunez.
And if his insistence to Sky Sports last week before the visit of Arsenal that the Gunners are title favourites due to the amount of the time their broader squad have worked alongside each other with Mikel Arteta had merit, it was also a hint that he feels that this new-look Liverpool will need time.