Roma's midfielder from Egypt Mohamed Salah reacts during the UEFA Champions League football match AS Roma vs Real Madrid on Frebruary 17, 2016 at the Olympic stadium in Rome (AFP)
AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti hailed the contribution of his winger Mohamed Salah against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, saying he hopes the Egyptian's pace would be key in Sunday's Serie A game against Palermo.
Although Real Madrid won 2-0 at Roma's Olimpico Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, Salah put on a fine display with his marauding runs down the right flank.
“Mohamed Salah has this blistering change of pace and he can keep that up for a long while, but then he runs out of gas in the final five metres," Spalletti told a news conference on Saturday.
“I’ve had players who can only do one sprint like that and then need ages to recover, but Salah can do two easily. The Real Madrid game shows he can give us an important contribution and we also need him to win this delicate match against Palermo," the coach added.
The 23-year-old, Salah, joined Roma from English champions Chelsea last summer after spending the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina, where he produced superb displays.
Salah, who spent a month on the sidelines due to injury late last year, ended a seven-match goal drought in the Serie A when he scored an early goal to set Roma on their way to a 2-0 victory over Sassuolo early this month.
He continued to recapture his best form in the Serie A game against Carpi last week; scoring a goal and creating two others.
Salah has scored seven league goals and one Champions League goal so far this season.
Roma lie fourth in the league table with 47 points, 11 behind leaders Juventus.
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