LIVERPOOL, England (AP) – Mohamed Salah was left out of Liverpool’s starting line-up by manager Arne Slott for the second successive Premier League game on Wednesday, a move that may signal the Egyptian winger’s status is declining in his ninth season at the club.
Salah was on the bench in the home match against Sunderland, but in the 1-1 draw at Anfield he only came on as a substitute at half-time and did not score.
On Sunday, the Egyptian winger made an unused substitute appearance in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over West Ham. It was the first time Salah did not start a league game under Slott, who took over in the 2024 off-season and won the title in his first season – thanks in large part to Salah’s league-leading 29 goals.
Slott was unhappy that Salah was dropped last weekend, but admitted he had “handled himself very well” and was a “top professional”.
Three days later, it was not enough to regain his place in the team, and Slott played alongside Dominik Szoboszlai on the right wing. That seems to be due to his off-the-ball work.
Coach Slott said, “In the first half, we used Szoboszlai on the right side and strengthened our defense to avoid conceding as many goals as we have in recent weeks.”
Liverpool have three games in hand – two in the Premier League and one in the Champions League – before Salah heads to the African Cup of Nations with Egypt.
Slott declined to say whether Salah will be in the squad for Liverpool’s next game against Leeds on Saturday.
“I’m not thinking about how I’m going to play against Leeds at the weekend,” he said. “I know who will start, but I won’t make a statement.”
Salah has scored four goals in the Premier League this season.
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