Mohamed Salah was an unused substitute as Liverpool won against West Ham on Sunday afternoon, but Reds manager Arne Slott was asked about the Egypt international
Liverpool manager Arne Slott has admitted it is a “legitimate assumption” that Mohamed Salah is unhappy about being left out of the starting XI against West Ham. Egypt’s star player was on the bench for the game at the London Stadium, with Florian Wirtz starting in the front three alongside Kodi Gakpo and Alexander Isak.
Salah has been a regular this season, but he and many of his Anfield teammates have been the subject of criticism as Slott’s side have struggled to defend their title. But in East London on Sunday, Isak and Gakpo scored second-half goals to win the game.
“It’s a fair assumption and a normal reaction for a player who can play for us,” Slott told reporters at a press conference ahead of Liverpool’s midweek game against Sunderland. “Of course the player is not happy not playing, he is not the only one I can say.
“His conduct was what you would expect from a professional. He was very supportive of his teammates and handled himself very well. You can’t play that well every three days if you let your emotions get the better of you. But Mo is very disciplined. He will always be a top professional, as he has been the last few days.”
Until Sunday, Salah had played every game in the league, scoring four goals in 12 appearances. However, Slott kept him on the bench as Hugo Ekitike, Curtis Jones and Andy Robertson came on as substitutes.
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Salah won the Premier League last season in Slott’s first season in charge, finishing as Liverpool’s top scorer and signing a contract extension at the end of the season. Despite the star player not scoring in four competitive games, Slott is backing him to turn things around.
“Fortunately, during my time here he was a superhuman, but every player in the world is human at the club sometimes,” he added. “He has scored so many goals for us and I am sure he will continue to do so in the future.”
Liverpool are preparing for a spell without Salah in the coming weeks, with key Liverpool players set to feature in Egypt and the African Cup of Nations. The Pharaohs were eliminated early in the last tournament, losing to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the round of 16, but Slott was asked about communication regarding the next tournament, with Egypt playing their first group game on December 22.
“The way we have worked so far has been that there is communication between all three parties: the player, the club and the country,” he said. “It’s nothing new, but FIFA has announced that December 15 is the last day players have to be released.”
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