Mohamed Salah was one of 12 players left behind by Liverpool for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to PSV Eindhoven – but the team’s top goalscorer didn’t rest up.
Liverpool’s talisman Mohamed Salah isn’t known for sitting back – and that was clear as the Reds went head-to-head with PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
Rather than enjoying a restful evening off, the prolific forward was hitting the gym at his home. While coach Arne Slot opted to keep 12 essential Liverpool players – including Salah – back in Merseyside for the midweek fixture in Eindhoven, Salah didn’t take this as an opportunity to lounge around.
With the squad having already secured their spot in the round of 16 and not much hinging on the game’s outcome, Slot saw fit to designate some downtime ahead of a busy schedule which includes a Premier League match against a high-flying Bournemouth team and the all-important Carabao Cup semifinal second leg against Tottenham Hotspur. The Reds are 1-0 down heading into the latter game.
He outlined the intent for the players to get a breather, saying: “They will be off. We want our players to be off three days before a game although that is not always possible. They will train on Thursday so a few staff members will go home earlier (from Eindhoven) to the ones who stayed behind.”
The expectation might have been for those not participating in what ended as a 3-2 loss to take some time off to rejuvenate. With a deluge of Champions League action taking place, taking it easy could easily involve watching a night of soccer from the comfort of their sofas. However, Salah had other plans. While his team clashed with PSV, he put himself through the paces with a home workout session.
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While a significantly altered squad suffered a defeat at the Philips Stadion, Salah took to Instagram, clearly ready to get back to training on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s journey to Bournemouth. There’s no rest for Salah until the Premier League trophy is back in Liverpool’s possession.
Given that Salah frequently posts such images on his social media, Slot often chooses not to rotate his team for midweek matches. His decision to avoid a full-strength line-up could turn out to be a genius move with less than 72 hours between games.
The Cherries have proven to be a tough opponent for many this season, particularly Arsenal, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest at the Vitality Stadium. The most recent of these was against Andoni Iraola’s side, which ended in a 5-0 victory for the Cherries.
