More than a few observing glances were cast at the Roumdé Adjia stadium in Garoua, Cameroon as Nigeria and Egypt played out a blockbuster Africa Cup of Nations clash on Tuesday evening.
The North Africans however fell to a limp defeat as Kelechi Iheanacho blasted home a superb half-volley on the half-hour mark to secure all three points in a showdown between the group D heavyweights.
The biggest talking point of the game was how well the Super Eagles executed their game plan in overwhelming their opponents and nullifying the considerable threat of arguably the most in-form player in world football, Mohamed Salah. In our previous article, we did shed more light on the major talking points from the heavyweight clash post-match.
The Egypt captain has sent several goal-scoring records tumbling this season but was uncharacteristically kept quiet in the AFCON opener.
After blitzing 23 goals and nine assists from only 26 games halfway through this season, the two-time African Player of The Year was unable to add to his 43 goals and 24 assists in 74 caps for the Pharaohs as their campaign began on a sour note.
The 29-year-old superstar registered a paltry four touches in the opposition box from a total of 35 touches as he attempted a single shot and was successful with one dribble from two instances.
1 – Mohamed Salah ?? against Nigeria:
35 touches, 4 in the opposition box
1 shot attempted (1 on target)
2 dribbles attempted (1 successful)Denied. #TeamEgypt #NGAEGY #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/5RYJILDT0U
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) January 11, 2022
That performance contrasts remarkably from his outings with Liverpool who boast one of the best attacks in Europe’s top five leagues. Hence, the poor start to Egypt’s tournament could spell good news for the Reds.
How Egypt Loss Could Help Liverpool Premier League Title Chances
Defeat to Nigeria means the record African champions could miss out on top spot in a group also containing Sudan and Guinea-Bissau and they must now beat the Bissau-Guineans on Saturday to harbour any chances of qualifying.
Should Salah and Egypt progress as runners-up, they will face a potentially tougher opponent in the knockout stages and given their disjointed performance against Nigeria, Liverpool could have their star man back earlier than expected. This will represent a huge boost for Jurgen Klopp’s men who are in the hunt for silverware on three fronts this season.
The Merseysiders are 11 points behind leaders Manchester City in the title race with a game in hand and are desperate to keep their hopes on with consistent results. Having been weakened by the loss of Salah and fellow superstar forward, Sadio Mane, Anfield will be observing Egypt’s progress in group B with keen interest.
In the course of the next four weeks, Liverpool will take on Arsenal twice in the EFL Cup semi-final as well as Cardiff City in the FA Cup and Brentford, Crystal Palace and Leicester City in the Premier League.
Should Egypt fail to qualify from their AFCON group, Salah will be available earlier than expected and could be available to at least two of the above fixtures.
That would also mean the Egyptian will be well-rested ahead of Liverpool’s round of 16 Champions League tie against Inter Milan on February 16.