Slot reiterates desire for ´long´ Salah stay at Liverpool

Arne Slot hopes Mohamed Salah will continue with Liverpool “for a long time” after the Egyptian scored twice in Wednesday’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Newcastle United.

Liverpool saw their lead at the top of the Premier League table cut to seven points as Fabian Schar’s 90th-minute equaliser salvaged a draw for Newcastle at a raucous St James’ Park.

Wins elsewhere for Chelsea and Arsenal saw them close the gap to the summit and made it a frustrating outing for Liverpool, though things could have been even worse for the Reds if not for Salah’s exploits in front of goal.

Liverpool twice trailed on Tyneside, only for Salah to score twice and provide an assist for Curtis Jones in the second half.

He has now both scored and assisted in 37 different Premier League games, overtaking Wayne Rooney (36 times) for the all-time competition record.

Salah is also now the leading scorer in the Premier League this campaign with 13 goals, but as he prepares to enter the final six months of his contract, his long-term future at Anfield remains unclear.

The Egyptian suggested his glittering spell with the club could be drawing to a close in the aftermath of last week’s win over Manchester City, but Slot is hopeful an agreement to keep him on Merseyside could yet be reached.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after Wednesday’s game, the Dutchman said: “I have mixed feelings, we were outstanding in the second half but we were not good enough in the first half.

“Maybe 3-3 is what the game deserved. They were really aggressive and forced us into mistakes but we were so much better in the second half.

“I knew the game could be changed around, we were much better with the ball. After the week we had we could change the game, which is a very positive thing to take. Every time we need Mo Salah he scores a goal.

“We are hoping and expecting he can continue this for a long time. He was outstanding in the second half, he did many special things for us.”

Salah has now scored on each of his last seven Premier League appearances, becoming just the second player in the competition’s history to enjoy two separate runs of that length.

Former Manchester United striker and current Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy previously achieved the feat, as did current Foxes forward Jamie Vardy.