What Andreas Pereira and Mohamed Salah did at half-time speaks volumes about Liverpool star
Mohamed Salah continues to be one of the main Liverpool attractions for rivals
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Fulham playmaker Andreas Pereira were spotted swapping shirts at half-time during the 2-2 draw at Anfield on Saturday. The Brazilian opened the scoring for the Cottagers before Andy Robertson was controversially sent off with the former Manchester United prospect's goal separating the two sides.
The Reds would have to twice come from behind through Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota, after Rodrigo Muniz restored the lead for Marco Silva's side with 14 minutes remaining. It is rare to see shirt-swaps during the half-time interval with players, typically, opting to change strips upon the conclusion of the game.
However, with the ongoing contract uncertainty surrounding Salah's future, Pereira may have felt it was the perfect time to claim a piece of history - should it be the Egyptian's last season on Merseyside.
Liverpool FC cameras caught the moment between the pair before they went off to their respective dressing rooms - where spirits would have been higher than the other. Whatever Arne Slot said at half-time must have worked with Gakpo heading home from Salah's cross just two minutes after the restart.
The 28-year-old ignored his United affiliation, having spent 12 years with the Red Devils - eight of which around the first-team making 45 appearances. However, his time at Old Trafford came to an end as well as four loan moves, when he joined the West London club in 2022.
Despite opening the scoring on 11 minutes, the Brazilian was fortunate to be on the pitch after a late lunge saw him collide with the back of Ryan Gravenberch's ankle - earning him a yellow card after just nine minutes. Following the incident, former Premier League referee Mike Dean felt that Tony Harrington made the wrong decision.
"I think judging by what we saw in the week in the programme that Howard (Webb) did (Mic'd up)," he explained."It's the same challenge as Wilfried Ndidi on the back of Cole Palmer.
"He's caught him just above the achilles with his studs and and scraped down to the top of the boot. In my opinion he's nowhere near the ball, he knows what he's doing and it's 100% a red card."