Liverpool managed to extend their Premier League winning streak to five games after registering a 2-1 victory over Tottenham on Saturday, though Giorginio Wijnaldum was the unlikely goal-scorer when he put his side in front in the first half.
Star strikers Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were unable to find the back of the net, though it wasn't for a want of trying - with the Senegalese international choosing to go for goal himself instead of squaring it to Salah at Wembley Stadium.
Speculation grew after the game that a rivalry was growing between Mane and Salah, with both wanting individual goal-scoring glory and Egyptian fans accusing the Senegal forward of being selfish – but where did it all start?
Why are Egyptian fans angry at Mane?
Egyptian football fans are extremely loyal to both their nation and to their nation's hero and talisman Salah, and so it is not surprising that they descended on Mane's social media following the Tottenham game to accuse him of snubbing his team-mate.
Back in May, when Sergio Ramos accidentally-on-purpose brought Salah down to the ground and injured his shoulder, it seemed as if Egyptian fans were ready to take the defender to war in the event that Spain and Egypt were to meet in the World Cup group stages.
Fortunately for Ramos, Spain never met with Egypt in the World Cup and so had his life spared.
But Egyptian fans were frustrated with the fact that Mane had several opportune chances to pass to Salah during the victory over Spurs but ultimately decided against finding his team-mate, choosing to go for goal himself but missing the target.
Salah was clearly aggravated with his inability to score during the game, something that was shared with Egyptian fans, and so they used Mane as a scapegoat.
The Senegal international posted a photo to Instagram following the victory at Spurs, at which he was inundated with comments from Egyptian fans demanding he pass to Salah in the future.
The situation was exacerbated over the weekend after it surfaced that Liverpool midfielder Wijnaldum appeared to 'like' a comment on Instagram suggesting that Mane was being selfish with his passing in the final third.
Is there a rivalry between Mane and Salah?
This is not the first time that speculation of a rivalry growing between the two Liverpool forwards. Last season, when Salah set the Premier League alight with his prolific debut season at Anfield, some thought that Mane was aggrieved at having the limelight taken away from him after he himself had just produced a fruitful season for the Reds.
Of course, such talk has repeatedly been dismissed by Mane, Salah and Klopp, with the striker pair always speaking about their strong friendship and bond.
The pair - and Roberto Firmino - have always had a mutual understanding in front of goal and are a lethal strike partnership, with the front-three being the most prolific in the Premier League and Champions League last season.
29 - Mo Salah (10), Roberto Firmino (10) and Sadio Mane (9) are now the highest scoring trio for a club in a single #UCL campaign, overtaking Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema at Real Madrid in 2013-14 (28). Ménage.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 2, 2018
Klopp has dismissed speculation that there is competition between his forwards and Mane and Salah have repeatedly stated that the only thing that matters is a win for the team.
When asked about his relationship with Mane, Salah told France Football: “We are friends, we talk a lot. Generally, all three of us sit in the dressing room at the same place, right after the matches.
"There is a real solidarity between us because we do not care who will score the most or who scores first.
"Everyone works to make sure the other succeeds. And as you can see, we all score."
The sight of both Salah and Mane praying on the pitch before the start of matches, kneeling to the ground in the direction of Mecca, is a common sight for football fans – both sharing in their devout worship of Islam.
Has Salah's form this season been poor?
While it may seem that Salah been off-colour so far this campaign, he has – after the five game mark – just scored one goal fewer this season than last.
The 25-year-old has netted twice and registered two assists so far this Premier League campaign, which is just one goal fewer than the three goals he managed to score at the same stage last term.
So, in reality, Salah is well on course to continue on from his form from last season, and it is far too early to determine whether he's caught the bug of the sophomore slump.
Salah only started really scoring goals for fun a few months after the start of the season, and so any fear that the Egyptian will be unable to reclaim the form that saw him break multiple Liverpool records are still premature.
