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Mohamed Salah missed the opportunity to pass the ball to Florian Wirtz, who was in a prime position to score against Eintracht Frankfurt, prolonging the German's goal drought since joining Liverpool.
The £116 million ($155M) summer recruit was playing on home turf as the Reds bounced back with a resounding victory in the Champions League. Arne Slot rotated his squad, keeping Salah on the bench before introducing him as a second-half substitute.
Wirtz started the match and played a key role in establishing Liverpool's dominant lead. When Salah entered the fray, he was eager to make his mark and found himself in a scoring position down the right wing, lining up for a shot on goal.
He could have easily passed to Wirtz, positioned just eight yards out, but the Egyptian opted to take the shot himself. Following Michael Zetterer's save, Wirtz expressed his frustration at his teammate's decision by throwing his arms up in exasperation.
Both Salah and Wirtz are under pressure to perform, each having their own reasons to find the back of the net. Wirtz, who set a British record when he transferred from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield, has yet to score for the club, while he had failed to add any assists to his tally following the Community Shield until Wednesday's victory.
Salah, on the other hand, has been less impressive compared to his prolific form last season. Now 33 and recently signed to a new contract, the forward needs to demonstrate that he can maintain his high level of performance.
He has only netted three times across all competitions and hasn't scored since mid-September.
The Egyptian, no longer a guaranteed starter, was evidently eager to make his mark and break his goalless streak, but he didn't manage to do so. Questions are being raised about Wirtz's lack of influence in the final third, but his two assists against Frankfurt should help quieten the critics.
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After the match, he spoke to DAZN, saying: "I've never conducted an interview so soon after a match. If I recall correctly, we were 1-0 down. We got back into it and turned the game around. In the first half I made it hard for myself getting into good spaces.
"And then I was unfortunate to lose the ball before we conceded, but on the whole it was okay. I tried to get into better spaces during the second half. I know that I can do much, much more. I think the second half was really good, and from everyone else too. So I'm satisfied that we've won today and that I finally have a goal involvement."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
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