Mo Salah reveals the inspiration behind his new celebration from unexpected sport after making flying start to the new season under Arne Slot at Liverpool

Liverpool winger Mo Salah has revealed a star from another sport has inspired his new celebration.

Salah has made a flying start to the season under new Reds boss Arne Slot, scoring in Liverpool’s 2-0 wins over Ipswich Town and Brentford, respectively.

After finding the net, he has shown off his new celebration which sees him pulling out an imaginary bow and arrow before firing into the distance.

It is not something Salah has done before, and has got fans wondering why he has started to do it now after seven years at Anfield. The man himself has now explained the reasoning behind his new celebration.

Salah told the Men In Blazers podcast: ‘I was watching the UFC, [Alex] Pereira against Israel Adesanya. When he won the second fight, he celebrated like that. 

He has scored in Liverpool’s opening two wins against Ipswich Town and Brentford

He has revealed his new celebration has been inspired by Israel Adesanya, who pulled out an imaginary bow and arrow after beating Alex Pereira last year

‘I like the celebration, so that’s why I did it.’

Salah was referring to Adesanya’s fight against Pereira back in April 2023 when the former beat his great rival via second-round knockout before celebrating while Pereira was laid out on the canvas.

That avenged Adesanya’s loss to the same opponent five months earlier, while Pereira also beat Adesanya twice when they fought in kickboxing in 2016 and 2017.

The bow and arrow celebration is actually Pereira’s signature move, but Adesanya turned the tables on the Brazilian after finally getting the better of him. 

Adesanya is viewed as one of the best middleweights in history, having held the UFC title twice between 2019 and 2023.

However, he has lost his last two fights, including against South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis earlier this month.

But Salah is still a big fan of Adesanya and the UFC, which has led to him trying out a new celebration.

Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes is also a fan of the bow and arrow celebration

He is not the first Premier League footballer to pull out the bow and arrow celebration, though, as Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes has also done it on numerous occasions after scoring.

Salah will be hoping to showcase his celebration once more on Sunday when Liverpool travel to Old Trafford to face their bitter rivals Manchester United as they aim to continue their perfect start to the season.