What Liverpool duo Salah and Mane said to Egypt goalkeeper before crucial AFCON penalty
Senegal celebrates after a nail-biting Africa Cup of Nations final victory over seven-times winners Egypt
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Egypt goalkeeper Gabaski has come clean on his Africa Cup of Nations final conversations with Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. The latter appeared to be giving his team-mate tips on where Mane would place his early spot-kick, and the Senegalese star saw it saved before ultimately redeeming himself in the decisive shootout.
Egypt and Senegal played out a tense 120 minutes of football on Sunday to decide who would take home Africa’s continental trophy.
A goalless outing seemed improbable when Mane stepped up to take a penalty inside seven minutes, but he saw his powerful effort saved by Gabaski after Salah had consulted with the stopper.
It was a genuine sign of tension between the duo, who routinely wow Reds fans by working together on the opposing flanks of Liverpool’s attack.
And with onlookers left to wonder exactly what was said, Gabaski himself gave his rundown of events after the final whistle.
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“Salah told me: ‘Mane would shoot to the right, he is coming now because he knows what I am saying’,” he told MBC Egypt.
“Mane said to me: ‘I will shoot on the left,’ then Salah replied, ‘Let’s see.'”
Mane did end up shooting to his left, and Gabaski followed to crucially keep his clean sheet intact as the game finished 0-0 after extra-time.
In a dramatic twist of fate, Mane’s spot-kick proved decisive in the resulting shootout, firing his penalty hard and low to grant Senegal their maiden AFCON triumph.
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The result was decided before Salah had the chance to have his own say for Egypt, after being selected to step up fifth.
When it comes to their respective returns to Anfield, Klopp acknowledged before the final that the winner is likely to stay abroad longer than the loser.
As such, Salah is expected to report back on Tuesday, well in time for Thursday evening’s tie against Leicester City.
It is unclear when Mane will join him, but Sunday’s trip to Burnley could be a more realistic prospect.
The rampaging duo will have more competition to contend with upon their return, with tricky winger Luis Diaz now a fully-fledged member of Klopp’s squad.
The Colombian made his debut against Cardiff City on Sunday, and impressed fans with his tenacity to set up Takumi Minamino’s goal en route to a 3-1 victory.
Harvey Elliott is also back in the fold after a lengthy injury absence, and his comeback strike looks to have buoyed the mood amongst fans.
Salah and Mane’s return to the pitch will do morale no harm either, although Klopp may set out cautiously with the first leg of their Champions League knockout tie with Inter Milan just over a week away.
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