Mohamed Salah reached another milestone on the first day of his sixth new year as a Liverpool player. His 150th Premier League goal for the club had been delayed shortly due to a penalty save. He made up for it in the second half of Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Newcastle United, scoring two goals and making two brilliant passes in the immediate lead-up to two more.

A fitting memento for a fan base anticipating what might be 30 days of Salah’s absence if Egypt, led by their superstar, advances to their third Africa Cup of Nations final in four attempts.

Salah will undoubtedly be in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, for the final on February 12.

“I want to win this competition, I would love to win it,” he added as he boarded a jubilant Anfield flight destined for Africa. “It’s a great feeling every time I step on the field with the national team jersey, something I cannot take for granted.”

Salah also cannot assume that Liverpool will still be on top when he returns, which might be eight club games later, including four in the league. Thanks to a thrilling performance against Newcastle, they have a three-point lead over Aston Villa in second place, but the pack of clubs surrounding the top is still tight.

Salah was kind to his teammates, saying, “We have fantastic players who can play in my position and do what I’m doing.”

But, while Diogo Jota won one penalty on a Salah-like counter-attack, Luis Diaz won another with some nimble, Salah-style footwork, and Trent Alexander-Arnold produced a glorious moment of daring and enterprise from Salah’s preferred right flank, nobody left Anfield believing Jurgen Klopp’s team is as consistently potent without their star man.

Cody Gakpo was among others who thanked him, praising the pure quality of Salah’s cross, which allowed Gakpo to convert Liverpool’s third goal despite a miscued connection. Curtis Jones was also impressive, sweeping home a Jota cross after Salah’s wonderful angled pass had placed him behind the Newcastle defense.

“Mo can change a game,” Klopp said before making an important comment. The missed penalty, which was well within Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka’s reach, had left a dominant Liverpool without reward at half time, an anxious situation in such a razor-thin title race, where Liverpool’s current lead is owed as much to two consecutive wins as it is to Arsenal losing twice in three days.

“Mo can improve in a game, because he’s done it hundreds of times,” Klopp said of Salah’s reaction to the saved penalty. “The more goals you have, the more used you are to missing opportunities and understanding what you need to do to keep going and improving.” That’s exactly what Mo did.”

That comment has a subtext of counsel for Darwin Nunez, the teenage forward whose goal drought has been broken only once in his last 14 appearances. While Klopp praised Darwin for his calmness in giving the assist for Salah’s opening goal, the Uruguayan will now bear some of the burden of compensating for Salah’s scores. He accomplishes so without the benefit of a hot streak of scoring.

Statistics demonstrate the significance of Salah’s work. This season, the Egyptian has finished or assisted on more than half of Liverpool’s Premier League goals.

His 18 goals from 27 appearances in all competitions are more than double the next best, Jota’s nine. Historically, Liverpool has been less productive in Januarys than in Decembers during Klopp’s tenure, though they have been very fortunate in how far Salah’s Afcon absences have previously cost them.

The 2019 Cup of Nations was a summer competition held outside of the domestic schedule; in 2022, when Egypt endured heartbreak by losing on penalties to Senegal in the final, Salah missed only two Premier League games.

The influence on this season appears to be higher. Salah’s absence coincides with that of Wataru Endo, who has become increasingly influential in Liverpool’s midfield and will be representing Japan at the Asian Cup in Qatar, which runs concurrently with Afcon.

Tottenham Hotspur, who are fifth in the rankings, are also recording departures, the most notable being Son Heung-min, who is on his way to Qatar with South Korea. Son, like Salah at Liverpool, is by far Spurs’ biggest scorer this season. He compared his impending absence to Harry Kane’s injury absences during the years when Son and Kane shared main responsibility in Tottenham’s attack.

“When Harry was missing with injuries, I felt like I needed to step up in previous years,” Son went on to say. “I hope our players feel compelled to step up in this type of situation.” I’m hoping that everyone in the attacking positions can score as many goals as possible to help us get back into the game.”

Tottenham’s winter burden extends beyond the loss of their finest striker, only six months after Kane joined Bayern Munich. Spurs’ midfield would be significantly altered if Senegal and Mali called up Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma for the Afcon.

Around 40 players from England’s top flight have been selected to compete in either the Afcon or Asian Cup. Manchester United release Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana and Moroccan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat. Wolverhampton Wanderers will discover just how reliant they are on Hwang Hee-chan of Korea, whose energy and goals have bolstered their great last month of league form.

Look no further than the leaderboard of scorers to gauge the heavy potential impact of African and Asian football’s bi-annual showpieces on the Premier League over the next four to six weeks. Salah, Son, and Hwang are three of six men who have hit double figures in top English football’s worldwide playground.