News'That's what he does' - Gary McAllister on Mo Salah class and USA tour impressions
Gary McAllister has been a keen observer of Liverpool’s progress on their USA tour, not least the quality of Mohamed Salah in training.
Former Reds midfielder McAllister is with the club’s travelling pre-season party, which landed in Philadelphia on Saturday after a stay in Pittsburgh that included a 1-0 defeat of Real Betis in a friendly.
Arne Slot’s squad conducted an open training session at Lincoln Financial Field the following day, and McAllister took delight from watching Salah up close.
“There were a couple of occasions [on Sunday], just little moments in the training where he’s dragging the ball out of the air, made little movements onto his left side and tucked it into the top corner,” the Scot told Sky Sports.
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“That’s what Mo Salah does.
“The earlier he can get the ball closer to the goal, the better. When teams play a low block and get many bodies behind the ball, it becomes more difficult for forward players.
“He’ll want the ball nice and early, but in little pockets where he can manipulate the ball and get shots on goal.”
The victory over Betis at Acrisure Stadium was secured through Dominik Szoboszlai’s crisp, first-half effort from Salah’s assist into the box.
That game also saw a number of youngsters get their chance to impress, particularly following a raft of changes during the second period.
Next up on the trip is a meeting with Arsenal on Wednesday evening (7.30pm local time).
“The game in Pittsburgh was a nice victory,” said McAllister. “They were a little bit rusty, it was only their first proper game; they had a game behind closed doors back at the AXA [Training Centre].
“I thought the game in Pittsburgh was a good exercise. We saw a lot of the youngsters playing, which was really exciting. A good result.
“And then moving on, getting down here [to Philadelphia], I went to training [on Sunday], just seeing little bits of combination play in and around the box, the corner of the box, little give-and-gos, so that was interesting. And then there was a little bit of build-up play at one end of the ground.
“I think that’s what you’re going to see from Liverpool, maybe play a few more passes going into the [final] third of the field.”
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