Liverpool boss Arne Slot made the bold call to bench Mohamed Salah as the Premier League champions ended their four-game losing streak at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Reds had slipped into their worst run of form under the Dutchman and changes were required ahead of a rousing 5-1 UEFA Champions League win in Germany.
Salah's omission from the starting XI was a huge pre-game talking point as the Egyptian started on the bench for just the second time this season.
The 33-year-old had previously started all eight top-flight matches, and one from two in the UCL, but with just one goal scored in either competition.
Slot's call to go with Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak meant Salah was restricted to 16 minutes off the bench late on and the Reds chief now faces a major decision over how to bring him back into the fold.
Club legend Jamie Carragher has been vocal in his view of Salah no longer being at the level to command an automatic starting place and that appears to be Slot's thinking.
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With confidence reinjected into his team, Slot is expected to stick with the majority of the same set up, as Liverpool head to Brentford in league action on October 25.
Will Salah start for Liverpool vs. Brentford?
However, the uncomfortable call on Salah could now be delayed, after Isak was forced off with a groin issue at half-time in Frankfurt.
Slot confirmed the problem is not serious, but with such a short turnaround, the Sweden international is unlikely to be risked against the Bees.
"It's a difficult balance we have with him. When he first came, he'd hardly trained, so you bring him step by step.
"Then you feel like, there must be a moment where he can play twice a week. The first time we try, he has to go off because he felt his groin a little bit.
"If he'd been in the red zone, we wouldn’t have played him. I hope it isn’t a bad one because if he would be out now for a few weeks that would put him back a lot."
That could see a change back towards a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 system, following the success of a tweaked 4-4-2 vs. Frankfurt, with Ekitike moved centrally in between Salah and Cody Gakpo.
Isak's likely absence only moves the Salah question down the agenda temporarily, but it allows Slot some crucial thinking time, to assess how his No.11 remains key in his plans for 2026.
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