Mohamed Salah has revealed he swapped his boots at half-time of Liverpool’s 4-2 win against Newcastle United after missing a penalty early on.
The Reds eventually romped to an emphatic victory on New Year’s Day at Anfield but they lacked a clinical and cutting edge during the first half.
Luis Diaz had an opener ruled out for a marginal offside against Darwin Nunez in the build-up before Salah saw a spot kick saved by Martin Dubravka after the Colombian winger was tripped in the 18-yard box.
That miss was Salah’s fourth from his previous ten penalties, and speaking to Sky Sports post-match, he admitted he swapped his boots at the break, though insisted this was because he had only trained in them once prior to the game.
“The other ones [boots] I missed the pen with, I just trained with yesterday. It’s not superstitious because I play with many boots. But when I feel it’s going to play with my head, OK, out, change the boots!” Salah said.
“But I don’t like to go in the second half of this game thinking, ‘I didn’t score with this’. So I just made my mind calm and focused on the game.”
“I’m calm. I try to do my job. I always practice. The first one I was confused because the goalkeeper was moving and he was waving and I thought, ‘OK, let’s go in the middle’, but he managed to save it very well.
“The second one I did what I did in training and did my thing.”
Salah eventually gave Liverpool the lead just after half-time, but the hosts were immediately hit back by a goal from Alexander Isak against the run of play.
Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo put the Reds 3-1 up, only for a header from Sven Botman to bring Newcastle to within one goal again.
Liverpool iced the game after being awarded a second penalty when Diogo Jota fell under a challenge from Dubravka, with Salah making no mistake from 12 yards this time.
“The players spoke in the dressing room [at half-time and said] we have to stay calm,” Salah added.
“It’s a great result for us. The game was very intense and we managed to pick up three points and now we are top of the table. We need to stay calm and win every game.
“We believe a lot. We have such good talent, they just need to work hard, nothing else. They just need to express themselves on the field, just play their football. If we manage to do that and work hard, and I see them work hard after training in the gym, that’s what makes us a winning [team].”
Salah will now join up with the Egypt squad ahead of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations, with the Pharaohs looking to avenge their defeat in the final of the 2021 edition.
