Liverpool go top thanks to ‘Mo Salah special’ as rivals falter

Liverpool manager Arne Slot hailed a “Mo Salah special” as the Egyptian forward’s goal saw his side come from behind to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 and go top of the Premier League on Saturday.

Salah secured the points for Liverpool at Anfield to put Arne Slot’s side two points clear of injury-hit champions Manchester City who lost in the league for the first time in 11 months, going down to a shock 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth.

Completing a dream day for Liverpool, fellow title rivals Arsenal lost 1-0 at Newcastle United.

Liverpool fell behind after 14 minutes against Brighton with Turkey international Ferdi Kadioglu rifling in a stunning effort as the visitors seized control.

Slot’s side were struggling to get back on level terms but got a break when Cody Gakpo‘s 69th-minute cross went straight into the net to lift the mood.

Three minutes later Salah curled home a stunning effort from the right side of the penalty area and that proved enough.

“The second goal was a Mo Salah special,” Slot told BBC Sport. “It’s not the first and not the last time he will score from that position.”

Slot has enjoyed the best start by any new Liverpool manager since replacing Jürgen Klopp and Saturday’s victory was his side’s 13th in 15 matches in all competitions.

Slot’s eight wins in his first 10 Premier League games are also the most ever by a Liverpool manager in his first 10 top-flight league games in charge.

While the defeats for City and Arsenal were a bonus, the Dutchman said he was only concerned with his own side.

“Not because of those results but it feels special because we faced Arsenal last week who are a very tough team,” he said.

“Today we faced the same quality and idea about football and both times we had to come from behind to get a result. That is what makes my day, not so much the results from other games.”

The one negative on the day was centre-back Ibrahima Konaté coming off at half-time with an apparent arm injury.

Konate walked off the field grimacing in pain and using his shirt as a makeshift sling for his left arm after teammate Virgil van Dijk seemed to accidentally step on his forearm after a corner.

Slot said it was too early to assess the severity of the injury but was hoping the defender would not need a lengthy layoff.

“We don’t know yet. He had a lot of pain, but he hasn’t been to the hospital yet, and maybe it is not even necessary to go to the hospital, I don’t know,” Slot said at his post-game news conference.

“It is always difficult to judge an injury in the first hour or first 10 minutes after it happens. Let’s hope he can be with us as soon as possible because he had a big impact on our season until now.”

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.