Why Mo Salah changed his boots during Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle United | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah explained why he changed boots at half-time during Liverpool’s 4-2 victory over Newcastle United on New Year’s Day. The Egyptian forward missed a penalty in the 22nd minute of the match but won the game for the Reds with a superb second-half performance.

Salah broke the deadlock in the 49th minute, tapping Darwin Nunez’s pass into an unguarded net from close range. Alexander Isak then equalised shortly afterwards, against the run of play, following a moment of individual brilliance from winger Anthony Gordon.

However, two goals in four minutes from Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo effectively wrapped up the three points for Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield. Sven Botman made it 3-2 in the 81st minute but Salah restored Liverpool’s two-goal advantage before full-time from the penalty spot.

Salah’s brace means he now sits level with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland on 14 Premier League goals this term. Eagled-eyed fans noticed that the 31-year-old - who now has 153 Premier League goals to his name, making him the competition’s 10th highest scorer of all time - changed his boots during the half-time interval.

Why Salah changed his boots at half-time

Liverpool star explained his decision to Jamie Carragher

Speaking on Sky Sports’s Monday Night Football, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said to Salah: “Mo, I noticed at half-time you changed your boots”. Salah replied: “Yes, I did. 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 - okay, out, change the boots!”

Carragher joked: “So, he never missed a penalty, it was the boots’ fault!”. Salah responded: “No, not really, but I don't like to go in the second half of this game thinking, 'I didn’t score with this.' So I just changed, made my mind calm and focused on the game." Watch the interview below:

How many Liverpool games Salah could miss due to AFCON

Reds could be without Salah for eight fixtures

Liverpool, who have opened up a three-point lead over second-placed Aston Villa at the top of the Premier League table, will now be without Salah for the next few weeks due to his participation at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. The tournament gets underway on January 13, with the final pencilled in for February 11.

If Egypt go all the way to the final, Salah could miss as many as eight fixtures for Liverpool, including four Premier League games against Bournemouth, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Burnley. However, the world-class forward firmly believes that the Reds will cope without him.

Salah: Liverpool will win games without me

Egyptian insists Reds will cope in his absence

"Without me, I'm sure the team [Liverpool] will manage to win the games,” he told Sky Sports, per LiveScore. "We have fantastic players, really good quality and they just need to take the pressure away and play their football.

"Anyone can play in my position and anyone can do what I'm doing. We have a good system and everybody just needs to be free to express themselves.

"It means a lot to play for the national team. It's a great feeling every time you step on the pitch with the national jersey, it's something I cannot take for granted. I'm just happy to be there and I want to win it."