Manager Arne Slott has played down speculation that Mohamed Salah has played his last game for Liverpool, saying he believes the situation has been put to rest after the Egyptian made frank comments about the manager and the club after last weekend’s draw with Leeds.
The attacker was left out of the squad for the midweek win over Inter Milan, but was back in the Reds’ match-day squad for the 2-0 win over Brighton. Once again substituted, he made a strong impact when he came on in place of the injured Joe Gomez in the opening game, making his final appearance for Egypt before leaving Liverpool for the African Cup of Nations.
Salah provided the assist for Hugo Ekitike’s goal in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over the Seagulls, his final contribution before departing for international duty.
The 33-year-old rejoined the Liverpool squad after having constructive discussions with Slott on Friday.
The Dutchman refused to reveal details of the conversation, but appeared keen to draw a line under the episode, praising Salah’s performance in the win over Brighton.
“No, there is no problem for me to solve,” Slott said. “For me, he is just like any other player.
“I will talk to the players about whether they are happy or dissatisfied with things, but after the game I have nothing to say about what happened against Leeds.
“The reason why he was not in Milan was the interview. Everyone has a different opinion about that, whether he was there once, twice, three times, four times, four months, 12 years.
“Every manager makes a different decision on that. He wasn’t involved in the game against Milan, but I spoke to him yesterday. I don’t usually say anything about what we talk about, so I’m not going to make an exception now.”
“What was said between the two of us in that conversation will remain between us. What you saw, you will know. He was in the team and was my first substitute.”
“And everything else was talked about in that conversation, but I never talk about it. When I talk to Virgil or Mo or any of the other players, I never tell you guys what we talk about.
“But actions speak louder than what is said. He was in the team again and when I had to make the first substitution, I brought him in and he wanted to perform today, as all the fans, including myself, wanted him to do.”
After the win, Salah thanked supporters in all sections of Anfield and was one of the last Liverpool players to leave the turf.
But Slott rejected the idea that the Egyptian’s gesture signaled a possible departure in January.
“I don’t think he was the only player who walked around the pitch and thanked the fans, because I think our fans deserve to be thanked by us,” he explained. “I think our players worked incredibly hard today to keep the clean sheet.
“Mo is going to AFCON now. I hope he does well, but in the meantime we have to play here without him because we don’t have that many players available at the moment.”
“He is a Liverpool player and the moment he is there we want to use him when we need him.
“He didn’t start today. He didn’t start a few times before, but he started almost every game for the past year and a half.
“He came in today and had the performance you would want him to have. He almost had one more assist. I think he was shocked to see Virgil next to him in that long sprint.”
“When Fede assisted, he was close to the goal. He is a threat and that was very important. When you play with attackers, you want them to be a threat to the other team.”
