The tranquillity at Liverpool was momentarily disrupted on Monday afternoon when a playful exchange between Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold during pre-training was misconstrued as a serious disagreement. As the team emerged for open training at the AXA Training Centre around 1.15pm, the pair were seen pushing each other, leading to speculation of a rift between two of the club's most prominent players.
Despite Salah laughing throughout the incident, some observers interpreted it as a sign of discord within Arne Slot's squad. The footage from the Kirkby base showed Alexander-Arnold looking less than pleased, while Salah seemed amused by the situation. Ibrahima Konate intervened, with Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones attempting to mediate. However, insiders and reporters present at the training session dismissed the incident as harmless banter between team-mates, contradicting the narrative that soon ensued.
The duo were seen sharing a laugh at the lavish £50m training grounds, suggesting that any talk of discord was greatly exaggerated. Instead of internal strife, a strong togetherness has swept through the Liverpool squad this season and then now embark on a pivotal week. There is the potential to secure a Champions League quarter-final berth and claim the season's first trophy under Arne Slot in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
First on the agenda is the return leg against Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield, a match where Slot acknowledges his squad must up their game following their narrow 1-0 victory in Paris. "The result was ours, the performance was for them," Slot said.
"I think both teams have shown in the last 15-20 games that they can score goals from everywhere. Yes, we are 1-0 up and that gives us confidence, where it will give them confidence the way they have played and their performance. Maybe 50/50 is a fair way of looking at it.
"Tomorrow, we want to play a different game, but our intentions are always the same and we won't go for a draw. We just want to win every single game and have the ball as much as we can.
"Everyone is writing about 27 shots (for PSG last week) and that is also what I saw, but if you put the 27 shots in a row it's not that they were all amazing saves from Alisson. He had two or three incredible saves but most of theirs were from outside the 18-yard box."
Despite Liverpool's testing encounter with PSG ending in lucky circumstances, their show of resilience highlighted their robust character, as they successfully restrained a lively PSG side, especially in the latter half. Now, the spotlight falls on a less experienced and glamorous PSG team than years gone by to respond to their significant challenge.
"When you play Anfield against Liverpool you don't need to motivate yourself that much, you have it already," said Khivicha Kvaratskhelia, the PSG winger who was linked with Liverpool in January. "When you play for PSG you have motivation every game. We try to win tomorrow, this is our mentality.
"I am not the only one who played here at Anfield [before], most of them know what it means to play here. It will be a tough game, it will be a tough atmosphere for Liverpool but I know our fans are coming here and will be a big support."
In a rare move that deviated from his usual approach, PSG coach Luis Enrique directly addressed his squad post-match last week, despite their defeat, to commend them on their performance. The ex-Barcelona manager, who claimed the prestigious trophy back in 2015, typically refrains from immediate post-game discussions with his team but felt compelled to make an exception after the profound effect of Elliott's decisive goal.
Enrique said: "I am pretty convinced that every single one of my players wants to play. We know what it means to play at Anfield, it is a historic stadium with a wonderful history and that is a huge motivation."
"I have often told you why I almost never speak to my players after the game. It is my view, I believe there is no point to it because the players are just thinking about the result but after the game against Liverpool I made an exception because I told them they did absolutely everything to get a result. But I don't think I will be doing it again."
"I don't think Arne Slot has much doubts about our starting 11 tomorrow, I don't pay too much attention to what is going on elsewhere. No I am not going to give away who is going to play or how but over the course of the two games we are going to see two of the best teams in Europe. Certainly I think whoever goes through tomorrow will go to the final."
On the brink of a pivotal week in the season, it would be ill-timed for internal disputes to engulf Liverpool. Fortunately, things were not as they appeared at the AXA Centre on Monday afternoon.
A version of this article first appeared on the Liverpool Echo