Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe
Mohamed Salah competes for the ball with Kylian Mbappe (Image: (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images))
Never had a transfer seemed so destined to succeed than that of Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid.
The French superstar made his inevitable, and hugely anticipated, move to the Spanish giants in the summer in what appeared to be the final piece in the jigsaw to shape the future of Real Madrid's attack.
Mbappe and Madrid looked a match made in heaven in August but come November, it seems not everything has gone to plan. Wednesday’s game at Anfield pitted two giants of the modern era against each other, as Mbappe led the line against Liverpool with Mohamed Salah in sensational form.
Mbappe had dominated headlines over the past couple of transfer windows with links to a potential move to the North West, coincidentally as a potential replacement for Salah given Saudi Arabian clubs' interest in the Egyptian. Salah's contract situation remains in saga territory after the forward declared he was "disappointed" at no new offer as of yet, but he is certainly not playing as if it is on his mind.
Salah and Mbappe shared similarities on the pitch on Wednesday, both missing penalties but with one key difference - their responses.
A despondent Mbappe looked uncharacteristically out of place at the front of the Madrid attack, labelled by one Spanish outlet as “a downright useless element” and handed a brutal 2/10 rating by influential French newspaper L'Equipe.
The Red side of the ECHO readership was obviously thrilled by the win over Madrid, and were particularly impressed by Conor Bradley's display up against Mbappe. On Ian Doyle's Liverpool player ratings, brommers wrote: "Bradley showed Mbappe how to play football tonight." Meanwhile, Original75 added: "Bradley should get 10 in the rating(s), imagine our young player dominating Mbappe, the most expensive player in the world".
Conor Bradley's superb performance for Liverpool against Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe has earned him high praise. (Image: 2024 UEFA)
There is no doubting Mbappe's inherent ability: after all, he is a World Cup winner with massive performances on the biggest of stages. All players, even the best, go through highs and lows - but for how long will he continue to lead the Madrid front line under this sort of pressure?
Despite Salah's miss of his own from the spot, he proved once again to be one of, if not the, most dangerous attacking talent at the top level of football. He was a constant threat as the Reds dominated proceedings.
These performances, coupled with big fixtures to come (starting with the visit of Manchester City this Sunday), suggest that Liverpool may not be able to afford to continue to drag out Salah's contract situation. Finding a replacement for a world-leading talent like the Egyptian is not a dream scenario for any recruitment team.
Even the most seemingly obvious moves don’t always go to plan - just ask Mbappe and Madrid. Big signings do not always work out, and replacing a player like Salah is a lottery in itself. In a recent ECHO poll asking which of Liverpool's three stars should be prioritised for new contract talks, the fans were clear: Salah earned 64 per cent of the near-3,000 votes compared Virgil van Dijk (21%) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (15%).
For now, not dealing with the future of Liverpool's main man doesn’t seem to having much effect on his performances. Even during uncertainty, Salah is still at the top end of his performance meter.
But for how long Liverpool can continue to wait before his frustrations rise off it remains to be seen. There also remains the remote possibility that if Salah does leave next summer, Liverpool may be tempted to go back in for Mbappe if he is willing to end his short time in Madrid - but the finances make such a deal unlikely.
Stranger things have happened, but Mbappe's struggles contrasted with Salah's stunning form show how valuable it is for a world-class player to be in the right place, at the right time. Do Liverpool dare risk losing that?