Mohamed Salah found himself in the headlines on Sunday despite failing to get on the pitch during Liverpool’s win over West Ham.
The Egyptian has been in disappointing form of late, but has still been a guaranteed starter throughout the Reds’ losing streak.
That changed at the London Stadium where Arne Slot decided that enough was enough. With Salah on the bench, Dominik Szoboszlai started wide on the right for Liverpool.
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Who was your man of the match during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over West Ham?
Alexander Isak shakes hands with Arne Slot after being substituted during Liverpool's Premier League match against West Ham United at the London Stadium.
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By and large, Slot’s new plan worked, with the Reds finally recording another Premier League win.
They have the chance to quickly back that up as Sunderland come to Anfield on Wednesday, and according to former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol, it would be a ‘big mistake’ to bring Salah straight back in.
Liverpool better defensively without Mohamed Salah
Despite his status as the club’s talisman and best paid player, there could be little argument from Salah that he deserved to be out on the pitch on Sunday.
His form has tailed off to the degree that it has arguably been harming Liverpool both in attack and defence, where he has had reduced duties since Slot’s arrival in 2024.
Mohamed Salah on the bench during West Ham United v Liverpool - Premier League
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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And according to Nicol, it is for these defensive deficiencies – and the turnaround seen without Salah on the pitch – that Slot should leave the Egyptian King on the bench for a second game running.
“You need to start from the back, you need the base to be right, to be solid, to stop giving goals away. He goes back and breaks that shape up, at least they were solid defensively – because of Szoboszlai,” Nicol told ESPN FC.
“He wasn’t standing wide the way Mo [Salah] does and just stands there waiting for the ball, he’s getting involved, he’s getting back inside, helping his full-back. The whole shape defensively was miles better, they’re not going to get better if they just all of a sudden go back to what they’re doing and teams start streaming through them again.”
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“You’ve got to look after the base, the solid structure that they had today. Yes, it’s against West Ham, but there was a solid structure, there was no real drama, no running all over the place, no holes. That’s what you’ve got to go from. If he changes it and brings Mo Salah back against Sunderland, to me that’s a big mistake.”
Will Salah come back in against Sunderland?
Sunday was the first time Slot has left Salah on the bench during a Premier League match since he joined the club last year.
To do it once is not necessarily indicative of anything, but to do it again would feel like a shift in approach from the Liverpool head coach.
As he travels away for AFCON in just over one week’s time, there’s a chance Salah may never find his way back into Liverpool’s best XI if he is left out on Wednesday.
Nicol’s argument is fairly airtight. Having been on such a bad run, you should then probably stick to a change if it has worked in the manner Slot’s did at West Ham.
But Salah is Salah, and he is always liable to find the net, especially at Anfield. The veteran thrives on proving people wrong and will be absolutely desperate to make an impact if he does face the Black Cats. It is a tough call for Slot, but we think he might just stick his net out and go with the same again.
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