Mohamed Salah showed Liverpool exactly what it is missing as he scored his first goal for Trabzonspor during the Reds' clash with Newcastle
Trabzonspor's Mohamed Salah is in action
Mohamed Salah has opened his goalscoring account for his new club Trabzonspor(Image: Photo by Hakan Burak Altunoz/Anadolu via Getty Images)
As Liverpool found itself a goal down to Newcastle United at halftime in its first Premier League game of the season, Mohamed Salah showed the Reds exactly what they're missing.
The Reds kicked off the new season, and Andoni Iraola's reign, in the worst possible way as Anthony Elanga fired Newcastle in front inside the opening five minutes. With one swift counterattack, Liverpool was cut through with absolute ease, which was very reminiscent of last season's woes.
Liverpool's best opportunity of the first half fell to Florian Wirtz, whose effort was just about saved by the Newcastle goalkeeper. Otherwise, execution in the final third was below par from the attacking players.
Meanwhile, a little over 2,000 miles away, Salah opened his account for his new club Trabzonspor. The Egyptian was unveiled by the club a few weeks ago after he took the summer to assess his options, which included interest from Saudi Arabia and MLS.
In a match against Basaksehir, Salah capitalized on some poor defending and rolled an effort into the back of the net. For 10 seasons in a row, he's scored on Liverpool's opening day, just unfortunately not for the Reds this time.
After the break, Iraola's men were able to get themselves back on level terms through Cody Gakpo, who himself has been linked with a move away from Anfield this summer. With goals seemingly hard to come by for Liverpool, the club may be wise to consider the implications of losing one of its very few trusted goalscorers.
But the same old problems continued to haunt Liverpool as Newcastle restored its lead in absolutely no time. Off the bench, Joe Willock finished off another dangerous Newcastle counter.
With less than 10 days to go before the transfer window closes, Liverpool's hierarchy is yet to sign Salah's long-term replacement. Victor Munoz was brought in much earlier in the window to provide some depth, but is certainly not yet of the caliber required to replace someone of Salah's stature.
Paris Saint-Germain duo Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye have been most heavily linked with the Reds, but the pair are proving to be too costly at this stage. It had always been suggested negotiations for Barcola, in particular, could drag into the final days of the window, but the clock is loudly ticking.
Brighton's Yankuba Minteh, who is a more natural right-wing option, has also been linked in the last week. So far, Liverpool has seen two bids rejected for the Gambia international, but it is not yet clear whether the club will return with a third, while the player himself is currently sidelined through injury.
Salah is settled and up and running for his new club, but it's clear Liverpool has not yet moved on from its talisman. It's certainly a big week ahead for Richard Hughes and Co., with plenty of work still to do.