Wednesday saw a battle of former Liverpool teammates as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane led Egypt and Senegal respectively, into battle in a 2025 AFCON semifinal.
Unfortunately for Liverpool's No. 11, he and his countrymen fell short once again in a big tournament, getting just close enough to taste it before having it ripped away. A late goal from Mane was enough to send the Pharaoh's to a 1-0 defeat, and a spot in the third place match on Saturday.
It will be interesting to see how Salah reacts to this loss, and if he plays in the third place match, I'll be very interested to see how aggressive he is and if he keeps the confidence and belief we've seen.
Salah left wanting once again
It was not the best performance from Salah or Egypt as a whole, as they finished with 3 total shots and only 37% of the possession.
Salah had no successful dribbles, was dispossessed 15 times, all while not getting a shot off in the match, which is almost unheard of. He put in a dangerous cross late in the first half that found nobody, but his creative mojo left him in this one.
He was not supported by the rest of the lineup as Senegal were clearly the more comfortable side on the day and it showed from start to finish.
At one point, Salah fouled Mane, which led to a slight rise in tensions, but things eventually settled down from there.
In fairness, Mo did do decent defensive work as he won 2/3 tackles on the night and had a clearance as well, as his side were constantly pushed back.
What comes next?
Now, Salah and Egypt must dust themselves off and prepare for a third place showdown with Nigeria, who lost the other semifinal to Morocco.
This takes place on Saturday, meaning we still won't have the King available for league action, and the Champions League next week would be the earliest he could suit up for Liverpool again.
Salah can still secure the golden boot in the tournament if he has a bright showing and you know he will be wanting to at least go out in some kind of style with positive momentum.
From a Reds perspective, that is certainly the hope as well. He departed for AFCON under strenuous conditions following an explosive post-match rant, so returning home with potentially only a fourth place showing for his efforts might not help the good vibes return.
Salah has faced Nigeria three times with Egypt, and has only scored one goal as the Super Eagles have used a physical marking system to effectively shut him out of clear chances.
He will need to be at his dynamic best on Saturday if he hopes to end this AFCON adventure on a good note.