Mohamed Salah Breaks a Premier League Scoring Record in Liverpool's Opening Game

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Ipswich Town and Liverpool at Portman Road stadium in Ipswich, England, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Ipswich Town and Liverpool at Portman Road stadium in Ipswich, England, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
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Mohamed Salah Breaks a Premier League Scoring Record in Liverpool's Opening Game

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Ipswich Town and Liverpool at Portman Road stadium in Ipswich, England, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Ipswich Town and Liverpool at Portman Road stadium in Ipswich, England, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Mohamed Salah broke a Premier League scoring record in Liverpool's opening game of the season, The AP reported.
Salah poked home a finish from close range in the 65th minute to take his tally of goals in the opening round of a Premier League season to nine, breaking a tie he had with a trio of English soccer greats in Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer and Frank Lampard.
Five minutes earlier, Salah set up Diogo Jota for the first goal as Liverpool improved after a slow first half in its first competitive game under Slot, who replaced longtime manager Jurgen Klopp during the offseason, according to The AP.
While Liverpool joined Manchester United — a 1-0 winner over Fulham on Friday — in making a triumphant start to the season, it was an early lesson for Ipswich, whose most famous supporter, pop star Ed Sheeran, was cheering the team on from a VIP box at Portman Road.
This is Ipswich’s first season in the top flight since 2002 and the team looks sure to entertain, even if it might concede plenty of goals in the process with its open, expansive style.
There were five more games later Saturday, including Arsenal — the runner-up in the past two seasons — hosting Wolverhampton.
Reigning champion Manchester City begins its title defense at Chelsea on Sunday.

By netting Liverpool's second against Ipswich, the Egypt star took his tally of goals in the opening round of a Premier League season to nine — more than anyone else.

He previously shared the record with Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer.

Salah's goal put Liverpool 2-0 ahead at Portman Road.

 

 

 

 



Gold Medal Boxer Imane Khelif Hailed upon Return to Algeria

Olympic gold medalist in the the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif waves from the top of a double decker bus while surrounded by fans as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
Olympic gold medalist in the the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif waves from the top of a double decker bus while surrounded by fans as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
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Gold Medal Boxer Imane Khelif Hailed upon Return to Algeria

Olympic gold medalist in the the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif waves from the top of a double decker bus while surrounded by fans as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
Olympic gold medalist in the the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif waves from the top of a double decker bus while surrounded by fans as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

With an outpouring of fans greeting her as she arrived in her hometown on Friday, Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif extolled Algeria for backing its athletes and said she hoped to again make her country proud in the future.

The football-obsessed North African country has given Khelif the celebrity treatment since she returned to Algiers earlier this week. Nowhere has this been more true than Tiaret, the largely rural region in central Algeria where she grew up and learned to box.

She and track star Djamel Sedjati were honored by local leaders and then paraded through the streets atop a city bus as hundreds of residents raised their hands and snapped photos.

"All Algerian men and women have the right to be happy and celebrate," The AP quoted her telling reporters Friday at a local government office. "This proves that the government and the people are all behind sports."

Algerians vigorously defended Khelif as she advanced through the Olympic Games amid international scrutiny and uninformed speculation about her sex.

Despite being born and raised as a woman, she found herself in the crosshairs of Western debates about gender, sex and sports after failing unspecified and untransparent eligibility tests for women´s competition from the now-banned International Boxing Association in 2023.

As observers including billionaire Elon Musk, author J.K. Rowling and former US President Donald Trump referred to her as a man in online posts, Algerians saw the controversy as an attack on their nation.

On Friday, Tiaret residents acknowledged the hardships that Khelif faced throughout the Olympics and said they hoped her success was just the beginning.

"We hope authorities will support her in moments of victory like this as well as throughout the whole year. She has suffered enormously and started from scratch," Mohamed Hamou said, sitting next to Khelif in Tiaret on Friday afternoon.

Later at the parade, Nadjia Fehma, another Tiaret resident, reveled in her victory and said she was an inspiration.

"She´s made us really proud, especially given her career path and the way she´s ended up succeeding," Fehma said.

Khelif's hometown welcome came days after she filed a criminal complaint for cyber-harassment in France, with her lawyer alleging a "misogynist, racist and sexist campaign" throughout the Olympics.

On Wednesday, Khelif acknowledged the difficulties and fear she felt on El Bilad, a private television channel in Algeria. She said nobody had the right to question her sex and that she wasn't someone who enjoyed mixing politics and sports.

"Why was there such an outcry all over the world?" she asked. "I was afraid, but thank God, I was able to overcome it."