Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot (Image: Liverpool FC YouTube)
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot looks to have rattled the Manchester City supporters with a quip in his press conference to preview the game with Newcastle United, but it's a joke he seemingly instantly regretted making. Rather than focus on Wednesday night's match at St James' Park, a lot of the questions were still around Sunday's 2-0 victory over the Premier League champions, and in one instance, what Mohamed Salah said after the game.
Salah said after Sunday's 2-0 win that he had treated the match as possibly his last appearance in a Liverpool vs City game, as uncertainty lingers over his contract with the club, which expires at the end of the season. Slot joked that perhaps Salah knows more about Manchester City's 115 charges and the case against the Premier League than anyone else, with Salah's comment perhaps suggesting City will be relegated this season.
"Maybe Mo knows more about the 115 acquisitions that are done, so he expects them not to be in the Premier League next season," Slot said. The Liverpool manager looked like he instantly regretted the joke, seeking to immediately clarify the situation by adding; "And I do expect them in the Premier League!
"No, I think the boring answer is always the same — this is not the place for me to talk about Mo's contract. Maybe I've already said too much with the joke I've just made [about City], and that will probably get the headlines. But it was a joke! I repeat, it was a joke!"
The hearing into City's 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules began in September and was expected to last around 10 weeks.