Firing Mo Salah faces Foxes seeking to banish ghost of Christmas past

Liverpool forward’s trip to the King Power a year ago prefaced a patchy 2022 but he has now well and truly regained his mojo

Thu, 29 Dec, 2022 - 20:00

Sachin Nakrani

Liverpool face Leicester on Friday evening looking to win a fourth Premier League game in succession and strengthen their push for a top-four place. For one of their players the encounter also provides an opportunity for redemption, the chance to right a wrong from almost exactly a year ago and further demonstrate that after a difficult 12 months he is back to his very best.

Indeed Mohamed Salah may well look back at events at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 as when things turned against him. He went into the game against Leicester in sensational form having scored 22 goals in 24 appearances for a rampant Liverpool side. He, and they, appeared set for more joy on a chilly night in the east Midlands, especially given the hosts were in poor form and severely hampered by injuries, and everything appeared to be going to plan when on 15 minutes the visitors were awarded a penalty after a foul by Wilfred Ndidi on Salah. He took it himself, and then came the twist – the shot was saved by Kasper Schmeichel, with the Egyptian’s header from the subsequent rebound crashing against the bar.