Salah changes shoes after missing penalty

After missing a penalty in the first half, striker Mohamed Salah changed his shoes and exploded with two goals and an assist in the second half, helping Liverpool beat Newcastle 4-2 in round 20 of the Premier League.

"I used the boot that missed the penalty in training yesterday," Salah told Sky Sports after the match. "It's not superstitious because I have a lot of boots. But at half-time I felt like I needed to change and I didn't want to go into the second half thinking I missed the penalty with these boots. So I just needed to calm down and focus on the game."

Mohamed Salah was disappointed after missing a penalty in Liverpool's 4-2 win over Newcastle in the 20th round of the Premier League at Anfield on January 1. Photo: Reuters

In the 20th minute, Luis Diaz was brought down by Sven Botman in the penalty area and referee Anthony Taylor awarded Liverpool a penalty. At the 11m mark, Salah's powerful shot was blocked by goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka, then Trent Alexander-Arnold's rebound shot went over the bar.

Since joining Liverpool in the summer of 2017, Salah has taken 29 penalties, missed six and scored 23 goals. The Egyptian star is the player who wasted the most penalties in the Premier League during this period. In Liverpool's history, only Steven Gerrard (9) and Michael Owen (7) have missed more penalties than Salah in the tournament.

But in the second half, after changing his boots, Salah exploded and left his mark on all four of Liverpool's goals. In the 49th minute, the 31-year-old striker opened the scoring with a tap-in from Darwin Nunez's cross into an empty net. In the 74th minute, Salah released the ball for Diogo Jota to enter the penalty area and then pass it to Curtis Jones to shoot into an empty goal. Four minutes later, the Egyptian star crossed from the right wing for substitute Cody Gakpo to break the offside trap and finish from close range.

In the 84th minute, Liverpool were awarded another penalty, although Dubravka's impact on Jota in the penalty area was unclear. Newcastle players surrounded referee Anthony Taylor but could not change the decision. This time, Salah took a soft shot and sent the ball low to the left corner, against Dubravka's judgment, making the score 4-2. On the sidelines, coach Jurgen Klopp turned his back, not daring to watch Salah take the second penalty and then raised his fist in celebration when he heard the cheers from the stands.

Salah (center) celebrates scoring the winning goal in Liverpool's 4-2 win over Newcastle at Anfield on January 1. Photo: AFP

"I stayed calm and tried to do my job," Salah said when asked about the two penalties. "I always practice penalties. The first one, I saw the Newcastle goalkeeper moving so I decided to kick it in the middle, but he saved it very well. The second time, I did what I did in training and scored."

Salah reached 150 goals for Liverpool in the Premier League, becoming the fifth player to reach this milestone for a club in the competition, after Harry Kane for Tottenham (213), Sergio Aguero for Man City (184), Wayne Rooney for Man Utd (183) and Thierry Henry for Arsenal (175).

But Salah will not play for Liverpool in the coming weeks as he joins up with Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11. Salah insists he is always honoured to wear the Egyptian national team jersey and is determined to go far and win the Africa Cup of Nations. He is also confident Liverpool will do well in the coming time with other quality options in attack.

Hong Duy

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