Will it be Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane? Italy or Portugal – or indeed neither? Can Canada end their long wait, and are the United States and Australia at risk of missing out?

Those questions and plenty more are set to be answered over the next week or so as World Cup qualifying concludes for many nations.

Just 15 of the 32 participants have so far been confirmed for Qatar 2022, leaving 48 teams battling for the 17 remaining spots.

Fourteen more countries will be assured of a finals berth come the end of next week in what is very much crunch time for those still in contention.

Stats Perform looks at the key talking points.

Egypt seeking revenge in AFCON final repeat

Less than two months on from meeting in the Africa Cup of Nations final, Egypt and Senegal face off over two legs for a place in Qatar.

Senegal prevailed in a penalty shoot-out to claim their first AFCON crown and, buoyed by that triumph, will consider themselves as favourites here.

While both teams boast an array of top-class talent, this fixture is being billed as a showdown between Liverpool team-mates Salah and Mane.

The two biggest stars in African football, only one of the pair will be part of the World Cup later this year – and neither will fancy watching it all unfold from home.

This is not the only grudge match taking place in the CAF section over the next week and a half, as fierce rivals Ghana and Nigeria will also face off in a two-legged play-off.

Cameroon are up against Algeria, Mali take on Tunisia and DR Congo meet Morocco in the other three ties, each of which will be concluded on March 29.

European heavyweights on collision course

Since the play-off draw in the UEFA section took place in November, all talk has centered around a potential meeting between Italy and Portugal for a place in the finals.

The winners of the past two European Championships, either the Azzurri or the Selecao will miss out on the biggest tournament of them all.

It should never have been this way, of course, as both teams were strong favourites to finish top of their groups and qualify automatically.

Italy finished second to Switzerland and Portugal were runners-up to Serbia, meaning the sides must now come through two qualifying ties.

First up for the reigning European champions is a meeting with North Macedonia in Palermo, while Portugal face Turkey in Porto, with the winners of both ties advancing.

Should, as expected, Italy and Portugal come through those semi-finals, the latter will have the advantage of staging the final on home soil five days later.

For Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo, it presents what will surely be his last chance to play at a record-equalling fifth World Cup.

Pathways impacted by political events

Path C of UEFA qualifying is undoubtedly the most eye-catching, but there are also some tasty fixtures in the other two sections – not least a possible Home Nations derby.

Scotland and Wales were kept apart in the Path B semi-finals but could meet in the final should they overcome Ukraine and Austria respectively.

However, due to ongoing events in Ukraine, their game against Scotland has been pushed back – likely until June – as has the final involving either Wales or Austria.

In Path C, Russia had been due to face Poland, but the invasion of Ukraine forced FIFA and UEFA's hand and they have been banned from competing.

Poland have therefore been handed a bye to the qualifying play-off final, where either Sweden or the Czech Republic await. That match will be contested next week as planned.

Canada on verge of ending long wait, USA with work to do

The United States qualified for every World Cup between 1990 and 2014, but they missed out on a place at Russia 2018 after an embarrassing loss to Trinidad and Tobago.

Gregg Berhalter's side are by no means assured of one of the three automatic qualification spots in the CONCACAF section this time around, either.

USA sit second with three games to go, but they still have to travel to third-placed Mexico, as well as facing Panama and Costa Rica, who occupy fourth and fifth respectively.

Level on points with Mexico and four ahead of Costa Rica, it could be a tense finale to qualifying for the Stars and Stripes.

That should not be the case for Canada, who are eight points clear of fourth and are all but assured of ending their 36-year wait to make a second World Cup finals appearance.

Brazil and Argentina through, but who will join them?

The drawn-out South American qualifiers are nearing their conclusion and only four of the 10 sides know their fate at this juncture.

It has been plain sailing for Brazil and Argentina, who are assured of an automatic qualifying spot with three games to go, including a rescheduled meeting between the pair.

Behind those perennial World Cup representatives are Ecuador, who have been the surprise package in qualifying and can finish no lower than fifth.

Ecuador will not be content with anything other than a top-four finish, though, and they can make certain of that with victory over Paraguay.

Assuming Ecuador get over the line, that will leave Uruguay, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Bolivia battling it out for progression, which sets up some intriguing fixtures.

Uruguay occupy fourth place, meaning their qualifying aspirations are in their own hands, but they have Peru and Chile – the two sides behind them – still to face.

Socceroos sweating on finals spot

Only four teams advance automatically from the CONMEBOL section, with the team in fifth entering a play-off against the winner of the AFC fourth round in a one-off tie in June.

That may well turn out to be Australia as the Socceroos are five and four points behind top two Saudi Arabia and Japan in Group B with two games to go.

However, those remaining two fixtures are against those nations occupying automatic qualification places, so Australia may yet sneak through.

Iran and South Korea have already made certain of progression in Group A, meanwhile, leaving the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Iraq to compete for third place.

The two third-placed finishers – which, as it stands, are Australia and the UAE – will meet in a one-legged match ahead of that aforementioned play-off with a CONMEBOL side.

Franck Kessie will not stay in Serie A, but instead will be forming part of Xavi's rebuild at Barcelona.

After a long contract saga at Milan, the Ivorian midfielder will reportedly leave the Serie A title contenders at the end of the season on a free transfer.

The 25-year-old will be the last player to leave from Milan's notorious splurge of 2017, which saw the club nearly break the €200million mark on over 10 players.

TOP STORY – KESSIE SET FOR BARCELONA MOVE 

Those who have followed Franck Kessie's contract situation with Milan will be aware a €6.5million salary was his reported benchmark. Milan have been reticent to pay that figure gross, but Barcelona are said to be willing to pay it net.

Protracted contract renegotiations between Kessie and Milan have failed to come to a resolution, and while  Ismael Bennacer and Sandro Tonali become more central to Stefano Pioli's plans, letting Kessie go has seen increased scope.

According to the Guardian, Kessie will leave the Rossoneri at the end of the season on a Bosman and join Barcelona with a contract that will last until 2026.

ROUND-UP

- According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus are preparing a substantial package to lure 29-year-old Mohamed Salah away from Liverpool.

- Having started on the bench with Karim Benzema injured in El Clasico, Luka Jovic is not considered as a requirement going forward at Real Madrid and will leave the club in the summer, as reported by Marca.

- Brazilian winger Raphinha has rejected Leeds United's first approach over a new contract, per UOL.

- Former Manchester United and Netherlands striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is tipped as the frontrunner to take over as coach at another former club of his, PSV, according to the Mirror.

Victor Osimhen matched the Serie A feat of Mohamed Salah, Samuel Eto'o and George Weah as the striker's double dragged Napoli to a 2-1 win over Udinese.

Gerard Deulofeu's first-half strike edged Udinese ahead at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, before Osimhen came to the fore after the interval.

Not only did that keep Napoli, temporarily at least, on level terms with leaders Milan, but the two goals took him to 11 for the campaign in Serie A.

That makes Osimhen the first Nigerian to achieve double figures in two consecutive Serie A seasons, while he became just the fourth African player to achieve the feat in the Italian top flight, after Weah for Milan, Eto'o for Inter and Salah for Roma.

The 23-year-old labelled the victory as essential in the hunt for Napoli's first Scudetto since the 1989-90 season.

"The atmosphere was incredible. We had a good reaction after the first half. It was essential to win and I thank the fans for their support," he told DAZN.

"We have to believe we can win the league. There are still eight games and we have to continue like this."

Napoli will look to continue their title charge after the international break when they visit top-four chasers Atalanta.

Victor Osimhen matched the Serie A feat of Mohamed Salah, Samuel Eto'o and George Weah as the striker's double dragged Napoli to a 2-1 win over Udinese.

Gerard Deulofeu's first-half strike edged Udinese ahead at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, before Osimhen came to the fore after the interval.

Not only did that keep Napoli, temporarily at least, on level terms with leaders Milan, but the two goals took him to 11 for the campaign in Serie A.

That makes Osimhen the first Nigerian to achieve double figures in two consecutive Serie A seasons, while he became just the fourth African player to achieve the feat in the Italian top flight, after Weah for Milan, Eto'o for Inter and Salah for Roma.

The 23-year-old labelled the victory as essential in the hunt for Napoli's first Scudetto since the 1989-90 season.

"The atmosphere was incredible. We had a good reaction after the first half. It was essential to win and I thank the fans for their support," he told DAZN.

"We have to believe we can win the league. There are still eight games and we have to continue like this."

Napoli will look to continue their title charge after the international break when they visit top-four chasers Atalanta.

Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss Liverpool's FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest and is unavailable for England duty due to a hamstring injury, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed.

The full-back, who was named in Gareth Southgate's latest England squad on Thursday, will be forced to miss the Three Lions' March international friendlies against Switzerland the Ivory Coast.

The Reds travel to the City Ground on Sunday in pursuit of a semi-final place, a few weeks on from claiming the EFL Cup against Chelsea at Wembley.

Victory would take them one step closer to a potential quadruple, with Klopp's side still in contention for both the Premier League and Champions League too.

But they will have to do so this weekend without Alexander-Arnold, while Mohamed Salah could be a doubt for the visitors too.

"Trent is out with a hamstring, so will be out for England too," Klopp told his pre-match news conference. "[It's] not good news, [but] we will see how long it takes. Mo felt his foot a little bit after the game too."

Asked on how his side would cope without Alexander-Arnold, Klopp added: "We will see. To replace him is difficult but possible.

"We have [James] Milner, [Joe] Gomez, these kind of things. Trent is so influential but Milner has done incredibly well in the past. We'll see how [he] is for Sunday."

Liverpool are set to play their first FA Cup quarter-final under Klopp, with the trophy one of the few gaps on his resume since he arrived on Merseyside.

If he is able to guide them past Forest - themselves in the last eight for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign - then the Reds will move a step closer to further silverware this season.

Mohamed Salah was named on the substitutes' bench for Liverpool's trip to Arsenal on Wednesday. 

The Egyptian sustained a foot injury in the 2-0 win at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, having already scored a penalty at the Amex Stadium. 

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was confident the Premier League's top scorer would be fit for the game at Emirates Stadium, labelling him a "tough cookie", but Salah was only deemed fit for the bench. 

Klopp made two changes from the team that won at Brighton, with Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota replacing Naby Keita and Salah. 

Salah leads the league's scoring charts with 20 goals, comfortably ahead of Jota, Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo (12). 

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta named the same XI that won 2-0 against Leicester City on Sunday as he looked to do his former club Manchester City a favour. 

Liverpool would move just one point behind City with a win on Wednesday after the Premier League leaders drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace on Monday. 

The Gunners would further cement their place in the top four with a win, sitting a point ahead of Manchester United but with three games in hand. 

Liverpool have won their last two away games against Arsenal in all competitions, as many as they had in their previous 24 visits to the Emirates/Highbury combined (D10 L12). The Reds have never won three in a row away against the north London side in their history. 

Mohamed Salah is arguably the best player in the world on current form, though Liverpool have not yet tied him down to a new deal.

Talks over fresh terms for the 29-year-old have been ongoing for some time, but nothing is close to being agreed.

With his contract up in 2023, Salah could become one of the most sought-after free agents.

TOP STORY – MO HAPPY TO WAIT

According to Fabrizio Romano, Salah is perfectly happy at Liverpool and is not considering pushing through a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona.

However, there has been no further progress on the contract talks.

Salah, who has scored 28 goals already this season across all competitions, remains fully focused on Liverpool but could leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.

ROUND-UP 

- Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland will demand that a release clause is included in his contract should he sign for Manchester City, reports The Sun. The Daily Mail suggested a deal was close.

- Bundesliga reporter Jan Aage Fjortoft, however, has claimed that Haaland is of interest to Bayern Munich, who may be faced with the prospect of losing Robert Lewandowski.

- Bayern are also said to be interested in Barcelona full-back Sergino Dest. That is according to a report by Fichajes.

- Foot Mercato say that Neymar will be offered back to Barcelona, as Paris Saint-Germain prepare for a "shake up" ahead of next season.

- Juventus and Milan, meanwhile, are interested in Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, according to Calciomercato.

Jurgen Klopp is astounded by how few free-kicks Mohamed Salah wins for Liverpool – claiming referees are not whistling often enough.

Liverpool boss Klopp spoke out on the eve of Liverpool's trip to face in-form Arsenal in the Premier League, hoping Salah will recover from a slight foot injury to feature.

The Egyptian is the league's top scorer with 20 goals, but he has won just 16 fouls this season, far fewer than many fellow forwards in the competition.

Among the seven leading scorers in the Premier League, only 12-goal Cristiano Ronaldo has been awarded fouls against him as rarely as Salah – the Manchester United man also earning 16 free-kicks.

Salah's Reds team-mates Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota are among that leading pack and have won 37 and 33 fouls respectively, while Brentford's 11-goal Ivan Toney has had 59 such decisions given in his favour.

The player with the most fouls awarded in the Premier League this season is Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, with 72.

"There's a statistic – I don't know exactly who did it – that Mo is the one player with the least fouls against him," Klopp said.

"But not that he didn't get fouled, it's just we don't whistle. If you compare it to other strikers, it's crazy.

"It's absolutely crazy how low his number of fouls is against him which the ref whistles. So it means he constantly has contact, going down and you have to go up again, and stuff like this."

Salah has been involved in 171 of Liverpool's 180 Premier League games since joining ahead of the 2017-18 season, starting 163 of those and scoring 115 goals.

Klopp knows he has a player who always wants to be involved.

"He's very professional and very desperate to play each game," said Klopp.

"So when you ask him [about] the nine games [that he has missed] and maybe I left him out once or twice so he didn't start the game, so these things are really hard for him. He tries to be on the pitch in training and in games if somehow possible."

Jurgen Klopp has praised Mikel Arteta's work since taking over at Arsenal, with the Liverpool boss stating that he sees similarities between the Spaniard's tenure and his own start on Merseyside.

The Gunners have overcome a slow start to the 2021-22 campaign to emerge as top-four favourites, having embarked upon a five-game win streak matched by only their rivals near the summit.

Arteta has drawn praise for his dynamic style of football, and speaking ahead of the pair's Premier League clash on Wednesday, Klopp indicated he sees a kindred spirit in his fellow manager.

"I can’t even remember their start [to the season], I just see them playing now," the German stated. "They have a clear structure, clear idea, properly tuned, possession-based, young, full of talent and joy.

"If you go through the line-up there's an experienced striker and then three very exciting young boys and then a bit more experience in the double six and then a pretty inexperienced backline and a young goalkeeper, and that's not with [Emile] Smith Rowe even in, and then on top of the other guys, it’s interesting.

"Other teams will not like it because it's another big name back on track but that's how it looks

"There are similarities [to us], you can say it like this, they're a massive club and qualification for European football in the last few years is not exactly how they wanted it.

"If they get Champions League this year, it will feel as good [as it did] for us the first time. A step in the right direction, an exciting team.

"Arsenal fans, maybe since I was in England it was not always easy for them to enjoy. But they seem to be now and that's exactly how it should be."

Klopp will face a fortress when he travels to north London this week, with Arsenal having lost just once at home in the Premier League since an opening weekend loss to Chelsea.

But he does not yet know whether he'll be able to call upon Mohamed Salah following the latter's injury against Brighton and Hove Albion, though the forward's issue is less serious than feared.

"Mo is a tough cookie," he added. "We were quite lucky with it. It was sore and painful, yesterday a bit less swollen and less painful.

"Now I have got a message that Mo is ready to train and we will see how that looks."

Mohamed Salah has assured Jurgen Klopp the injury that forced him out of Liverpool's win at Brighton and Hove Albion is nothing to worry about.

Talisman Salah struck Liverpool's 2,000th Premier League goal to give the Reds a 2-0 lead at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, but he was substituted shortly afterwards.

Liverpool have a trip to Arsenal coming up on Wednesday, and manager Klopp would want Salah available for that tussle with Mikel Arteta's team.

"We will see," Klopp said on BT Sport. "He thinks it's not serious, but you can see when Mo Salah's sitting down that something's not 100 per cent right.

"I think it was a situation before when he hit the ball and got blocked. I think the foot got slightly overstretched. We have to see."

Luis Diaz had earlier put Liverpool ahead with a brave header, as Klopp's team cut Manchester City's lead at the top of the table to three points.

Captain Jordan Henderson said: "It was a real big game for us today and I felt as though we delivered.

"You always want that second goal to try to kill the game off a little bit more. We had one or two more chances, half-chances, to score. Overall, I think we would be very pleased with the overall performance."

Looking at the shrinking gap to City, Henderson said: "We speak about this every week. We're concentrating on ourselves, concentrating on the next game. That's important and it's worked really well for us. The focus has always been the next game, no matter what competition, and to give everything in that game and there's no reason to change that now."

Confidence is surging through Liverpool's ranks, with the cautious belief they are in great shape to sustain this challenge.

"We've felt like this for a long time," Henderson told BT Sport. "We know we've got to work and improve all the time, be better. The teams around us at the top of the table are fantastic teams, so you can never relax, and you can never take the foot off the gas.

"You've always got to push each other, drive each other on, and so far we've been doing that and we've got to continue that right to the end."

Assessing Diaz's display, Henderson described the January recruit as "top class". The winger headed the opener but was flattened by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in doing so, with the Brighton man avoiding punishment.

"I think he's obviously a little bit late, but Luis has done so well to get there first," Henderson said.

Liverpool maintained their relentless pursuit of Manchester City with a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion to close back to within three points of the Premier League leaders.

The Reds lost for just the third time this term in their midweek clash with Inter but they marched on with an eighth straight league win in Saturday's contest at the Amex Stadium.

Luis Diaz bravely headed Liverpool into a 19th-minute lead by getting in front of Robert Sanchez, who was perhaps fortunate to avoid any action for clattering into the forward. 

Mohamed Salah added a second from the penalty spot – Liverpool's 2,000th goal in the competition – to increase the pressure on City ahead of Monday's trip to Crystal Palace.

Brighton had gone three league games without defeat to Liverpool but fell behind in the opening quarter of the contest to Diaz's second goal in a Liverpool shirt.

The former Porto winger attacked Joel Matip's chipped pass over the top and got his head to it, but he was unable to celebrate the goal after being wiped out by Sanchez.

Referee Mike Dean did not check back the incident on the monitor, meaning Sanchez stayed on the field, but Albion's reprieve counted for little as Salah doubled the Reds' lead.

Having missed a couple of presentable opportunities, the Egypt international fired a penalty right down the middle after Naby Keita's shot hit Yves Bissouma on the arm.

After becoming just the second Premier League side after Manchester United to hit a landmark 2,000 goals, Liverpool sat comfortably on their lead to see through another victory.

Liverpool have become only the second club after Manchester United to score 2,000 goals in the Premier League.

The Reds hit the landmark figure in Saturday's meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion thanks to Mohamed Salah's 61st-minute penalty to put his side 2-0 ahead.

Jurgen Klopp's team are still some way off United in terms of all-time goals in the competition, however, with their fierce rivals boasting 2,173.

Arsenal are next on the list behind United and Liverpool with 1,997 goals, followed by Chelsea (1,953) and Tottenham (1,716).

Liverpool's highest scoring Premier League season came in 2013-14 when netting 101 times, making them one of only three teams to reach the century mark in a single campaign.

Well over half of Liverpool's 2,000 goals have come at Anfield, while Newcastle United's St James' Park is the opposition ground they have scored their most goals at (43).

Somewhat unsurprisingly, then, Newcastle are the side against whom Liverpool have scored their most goals against, finding the net 108 times against the Magpies in total.

Salah's 32-goal season in 2017-18 stands as the most prolific by a Liverpool player in the competition, with Luis Suarez (31 in 2013-14) the only other to breach the 30-goal mark.

Robbie Fowler remains Liverpool's top scorer in Premier League history with 128, and is one of four players to reach the century mark for the club – alongside Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Salah.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes there should be greater scrutiny of investment in English football as Chelsea lurch into an uncertain future.

Klopp has expressed sympathy for Chelsea employees, after club owner Roman Abramovich's assets were frozen by the UK government because of his connection to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The asset freeze means Chelsea are legally unable to conduct player transfers or finalise new contracts, sell merchandise or have match-day attendees outside of season-ticket holders.

The armed conflict in Ukraine has placed Chelsea in consequent uncertainty, but Klopp was sympathetic towards Blues players and staff, currently in a situation considerably outside of their control.

Added to that, he bristled at the idea football should be devoid of blame in the game's sourcing of money.

"I don't think it's really fair to ask me, you've been in this country much longer than me," Klopp said in a pre-match press conference. "Did you care when Roman Abramovich came to this country? Did anybody really care when Newcastle got taken over? Do supporters really care?"

Newcastle United were recently taken over by a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, despite criticism from some observers of that country's human rights record.

Looking at the investments in English football that have caused controversy, Klopp added: "I think it's pretty obvious where the money is coming from, so everybody knew it, that's our fault, society's fault and now nobody can accept it, so we punish them.

"Not Chelsea's fault, not at all. In the end, owners are there to lead a club to give financial resources. I think it's a good idea to think about where the money is coming from."

On matters regarding Liverpool, the 54-year-old Klopp expressed joy at Joel Matip winning the Premier League's Player of the Month award for February.

"If there is one player who doesn't care if you under-rate him, it is Joel Matip. He just enjoys playing football with the team and that's why we are so glad he got it," Klopp said.

Meanwhile, Klopp is not concern by Mohamed Salah not having yet signed a contract extension.

The Egyptian attacker's current contract expires at the end of next season, in June 2023. Despite Liverpool being as yet unable to finalise an extension, Klopp is not worried about the situation.

"Nothing new has happened and Mo [Salah] is giving everything to the club and the rest will be sorted. The club is in talks with the agents and that's how it will be," Klopp said.

Liverpool, sitting second in the table, travel to face Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Ballon d'Or voting process will undergo a number of reforms ahead of the next ceremony, it was announced on Friday.

France Football editor-in-chief Pascal Ferre confirmed in L'Equipe there will be a number of changes, with the most notable being an alignment with the European club season, as opposed to the traditional calendar year awards.

While there was little debate regarding Alexia Putellas' win in the Ballon d'Or Femenin, Lionel Messi controversially won for a record seventh time in 2021, ahead of Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah.

Messi's performances with Argentina in their Copa America triumph propelled him to that win, despite – in the eyes of many voters – Lewandowski and Salah having stronger years on the whole.

As a result of the changes, though, performances from the 2022 World Cup in November will be taken into account for the 2023 award. Meanwhile, the 2023 Women's World Cup aligns with the 2024 award.

Secondly, given the Ballon d'Or voting jury has drastically expanded from the initial 16 in 1956 to 2021's 170, the jury for the men's trophy will be limited to representatives from countries in the top 100 of FIFA rankings, and 50 for the women’s award.

On top of that change to the body of jurors, Ballon d'Or ambassador Didier Drogba is among those who will now help to compile a shortlist of nominees.

While voting criteria in the Ballon d'Or has always been deeply subjective, France Football will seek to create a clearer rationale for individual cases.

A change in criteria will now not only consider individual performance but also that of the individual's teams, the "class" of the player and their fair play record. The "career of the player" will no longer be taken into account.

Mohamed Salah says Liverpool's 1-0 loss to Inter will act as a wake-up call after the Reds were made to work hard for their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg thanks to late goals from Roberto Firmino and Salah, the Reds looked comfortable for the opening hour of Tuesday's second leg at Anfield.

However, Lautaro Martinez's first goal in the competition since November 2020 – a superb swerving shot from 20 yards – gave Inter serious hope of at least forcing extra time.

Alexis Sanchez's red card 107 seconds later proved damaging, though, as Inter failed to create any further clear-cut opportunities against their Premier League opponents.

The defeat is Liverpool's first at Anfield in all competitions since March 7 last year, a run spanning some 28 matches, and marks just the third time they have lost this season.

But with his side having ultimately done enough to advance 2-1 winners on aggregate, Salah is hoping to use the rare setback to Liverpool's advantage.

"They are a tough team," Salah told BT Sport. "Even in the away game they were very good. We struggled in the beginning. We had the ball in the second half more. 

"The most important thing is that we qualified.  The most important thing is the team qualifying. We lost a game but it is a good game for us to take it and learn from it. 

"Maybe we got overconfident. It's always important to win, but tonight we hit the post twice, and missed chances. 

"But that can happen and the good thing is, it’s not in the Premier League and we have qualified. 

"Everyone wants to win the Champions League and the Premier League, so we will fight for both, and let’s see.”

Salah twice hit the frame of the goal, while Joel Matip also sent a header against the crossbar, on what proved to be a frustrating occasion for Jurgen Klopp's side.

He had previously scored eight goals in seven Champions League games this term, but failed to net from an expected goals (xG) return of 0.70 in the second leg.

The Egypt international could afford to laugh off his profligacy as attention instantly turned to Saturday's Premier League contest with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Salah added: "I hit the post twice. It’s OK – maybe I score three next time!"