Arne Slot was asked about what Mohamed Salah said following Liverpool's 2-0 win over Manchester City
Sport
Updated 10:25, 03 Dec 2024
Arne Slot drops his Manchester City joke during his Liverpool press conference
Arne Slot drops his Manchester City joke during his Liverpool press conference
Arne Slot has joked Mohamed Salah hinted he has played his last home game for Liverpool against Manchester City because the forward believes the champions will be relegated. Salah provided a goal and an assist for the 36th time in the Premier League - matching the record of Wayne Rooney - as the Reds beat City 2-0 on Sunday at Anfield to go nine points clear at the summit.
Salah admitted afterwards that it was "in his head" that he wouldn't feature in the fixture again with his current contract due to expire at the end of the season and there having been no resolution in negotiations over a new deal.
But when asked to respond to the Egyptian's comments, Slot instead pointed to the ongoing Premier League disciplinary action against City as reason for the forward's assertion.
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"Maybe Mo knows more about the 115 accusations so expects them not to be in the Premier League next season!" said Slot. "I do expect them to be in the Premier League...
"The boring answer is always the same. This is not the place for me to talk about Mo's contract. Maybe I've said already too much about the joke I've just made. So that will probably get the headlines. But it was a joke, I repeat, it was a joke!"
Salah has now scored 13 goals and 11 assists in 20 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, with the 32-year-old the leading player for the club in both metrics.
The forward has started every Premier League and Champions League game this season and, with Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott both striving for full fitness after long-term injury issues, will continue on the right wing in the Premier League visit to Newcastle United on Wednesday evening.
And Slot added: "Is there a danger that we rely too much on him? A bit, but only for the fact he can, because he is always a human being and it happened to him last season, he can get an injury as well.
"Since Federico Chiesa has had a difficult start at the club because of injuries, we don't really have a replacement for Mo.
"The good thing is that Harvey Elliott is getting fitter and fitter again and he has played this position many times as well. I'm not afraid that Mo's numbers will drop at all, but it when it comes to an injury for him, we are in a better position on the left wing than the right.
"But another good thing is Federico is also training with us again, he is getting back and Harvey is getting back. The best thing that can happen for us is that Mo stays fit and keeps producing these numbers."