The Liverpool manager used a recent press conference to respond to the Egyptian’s criticism after Mohamed Salah accused him of throwing Arne Slott under the bus.
Arne Slott admitted he was “surprised” to hear Mohamed Salah criticize the Liverpool manager in his sensational post-match interview at the weekend. With pressure already mounting on the slot, Salah threw several verbal grenades at the Dutchman.
After the Reds drew 3-3 at Leeds United with Salah not coming on as a substitute, Liverpool’s No. 11 marched into the mixed zone at Elland Road and told reporters he felt Slott had “thrown me under the bus” before saying there was “nothing to do” between Salah and the manager. The 33-year-old also hinted he may not play for Liverpool again after this weekend’s home match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Salah is not included in Liverpool’s traveling squad for Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan. Ahead of the important match, Slott used his press conference to respond to Salah’s harsh comments.
read more: Mohamed Salah’s next club option linked to transfer after Liverpool bombshellread more: Liverpool remove Mo Salah from squad as Reds superstar moves closer to leaving Anfield
“We told him he would not be traveling with us,” Slott said. “That’s our only communication to him. By Saturday we both talked a lot, sometimes long and sometimes short.”
Asked if his relationship with Salah had broken down, Slott added: “I don’t think so, but he has a right to feel how he feels about things. I certainly didn’t feel that way at all until Saturday night.”
“When I stopped playing with him, usually players don’t like managers that much, but he had a lot of respect for his staff members and teammates, and he practiced very hard, so I was a little surprised when I heard him make that comment.”
As for why Salah didn’t even play against Leeds, Slott said: “We’re struggling more and more as a team this season because of the game plan they have against us.
“I’m not just talking about long balls because there are a lot of teams playing against us. I’ve tried a lot of solutions, but that’s my job. We looked very vulnerable against Forest and PSV, so we decided to play with a different midfielder against West Ham, which we won.”
“We decided to bring him on at half-time against Sunderland and try to play him a bit on the diamond against Leeds. We could have played Mo on the right instead of Hugo (Ekitike).”
Salah will not feature against Inter, but Slott suggested the former Chelsea player could return after the match against Brighton or the African Cup of Nations.
“I am a strong believer that there is always a return for players,” Slott continued. “What was his reaction when he told me he wasn’t going today? It was short.”
Salah is scheduled to depart for AFCON after Liverpool’s match against Brighton on Saturday. Egypt’s first match of the tournament will be against Zimbabwe on Monday, December 22nd.
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