Liverpool Legends Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane Will Reunite In AFCON Semis

While Arne Slot seems to think that Liverpool's starting line-up is stronger without Mohamed Salah, the winger has been conspicuous by his absence in recent weeks, with the Reds struggling to score goals without their talisman. It's clear that they need their Egyptian King back at Anfield as quickly as possible. Salah, though, is desperate to extend his stay at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Indeed, he's not even attempting to hide just how much the tournament means to him.

"I have won almost every honour in the game," Salah said on Saturday, "but this is the one I am waiting for."

The good news for Salah is that after scoring the decisive goal in the 3-2 quarter-final victory over Ivory Coast, he's now just two games away from realising his dream. The bad news, though, is that Sadio Mane is once again standing in his way - because the Senegalese superstar has always been one of Salah's greatest rivals, even when they were team-mates.

Playing either side of Robert Firmino in Liverpool's three-pronged attack, Salah and Mane formed one of the most effective and successful forward lines in football history. Together, they fired the Reds to a seventh European Cup before ending England's most infamous title drought.

As Firmino subsequently revealed, though, Salah and Mane "were never best friends". "Each kept himself to himself," the Brazilian wrote in his autobiography. "It was rare to see the two of them talking."

However, the pair infamously exchanged words in front of the watching football world during the closing stages of a 3-0 win at Burnley during the 2019-20 season. Mane was so incensed with Salah's perceived selfishness, in fact, that the Senegalese was still ranting and raving after Jurgen Klopp wisely