Why was Mohamed Salah denied a hat-trick of assists for Liverpool vs Wolves?

Mohamed Salah looks dejected during Liverpool's 3-1 win at Wolves in the Premier League in September 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Mohamed Salah was denied a hat-trick of assists in Liverpool's 3-1 win away to Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Reds went behind early on at Molineux as Hwang Hee-Chan gave the home side the lead with just seven minutes on the clock in Saturday's early game.

Wolves went in ahead at the interval, but Salah set up Cody Gakpo for the equaliser after 55 minutes and then assisted Andy Robertson for a crucial second late in the game.

And as Wolves pressed for a late leveller in added time, the Egyptian teed up Harvey Elliott for a third goal to seal an impressive comeback win for Jurgen Klopp's side.

However, there was no hat-trick of assists for Salah as Elliott's deflected effort from the edge of the box was eventually given as a Hugo Bueno own goal.

In the event of an own goal, assists are not awarded by the Premier League. For those playing fantasy football, it will be recorded, but for Elliott and not Salah.

Salah was making his first Liverpool appearance since the Saudi Arabian Pro League's transfer window closed on September 7th.

The Reds rejected a huge £150 million bid from the Saudis for the Egyptian forward, with Klopp insisting he always knew the 31-year-old would be staying at Anfield this summer.

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Jurgen Klopp has opened up about the club’s decision to launch a mega-money bid for Moises Caicedo – but the Reds manager could be on his way out of Anfield sooner than anticipated

Klopp has been adamant that Salah will remain at the club despite Saudi Arabian interest. However, another bid could be just around the corner.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.