Mo Salah misses penalty but shines in new position as Egypt win pre-AFCON

Mohamed Salah starred as Egypt beat Tanzania 2-0 in their warm-up game before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Liverpool's number 11 played the full 90 minutes of the friendly in Cairo and was heavily involved in both goals.

Salah – who is sporting a new haircut ahead of the tournament – set up former Aston Villa forward Trezeguet to score with an impressive first-time through ball on 32 minutes, while his second-half penalty went in off Tanzania goalkeeper Aishi Manula after hitting the bar.

Technically, it goes down as another missed spot kick for Salah, whose record from 12 yards has been called into question in recent times.

The 31-year-old missed one and scored one for Liverpool against Newcastle, in his last game before leaving for international duty this month. Salah has missed three penalties this season, while his overall career record reads 38 scored, ten missed.

Interestingly, Salah played part of the game in central midfield, with manager Rui Vitoria saying on the positional switch: "It was clear today that he can play that part and he doesn’t necessarily have to play on the wing at all times."

Up next for Salah is Egypt's AFCON group stage opener against Mozambique on Sunday, 14 January.

That is followed by a stern test against continental heavyweights Ghana on Thursday, 18 January and then Cape Verde four days later on Monday, 22 January.

Depending on the Pharaoh's progression at the tournament in the Ivory Coast, Salah could as many as eight Liverpool games while away.

Salah is joint top for both goals (14) and assists (8) in the Premier League so far in 2023/24, while no player has more goal contributions than Liverpool's number 11.

Anfield Watch understands that the forward is leaning towards signing another contract extension at Anfield, despite speculation over a move to Saudi Arabia this summer.