Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Aston Villa at Anfield on November 01, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Aston Villa at Anfield on November 01, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool used to panic about the prospect of losing Mohamed Salah for the African Cup of Nations, this season, it could be a blessing in disguise.
Plato once said, or wrote, that “Necessity is the mother of invention”, and for all that Arne Slot might not have to reinvent the wheel, his Liverpool team will need to adapt soon.
There have been calls for the 33-year old to be dropped after an inconsistent start to the season, and having his hand forced could benefit Slot in the long run. Jurgen Klopp was never truly able to compensate for the loss of Salah when AFCON took place during the German’s time at Anfield, but his successor might just have found a way.
Slot finds a way to make Liverpool tick without Salah
One of Liverpool’s biggest problems all season has been consistency, not just of performance but of selection too and the AFCON gives Slot a guilt free opportunity to set his team up in the way that many have been calling out for.
Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak are two completely different strikers but, given the money spent on them and the quality that they possess, it was expected that they would be picked together, however, against West Ham, Slot found another solution. Playing Cody Gakpo on the left of an advanced midfield three kept a goal threat and increased the athleticism on that flank and played a key role in one of the most balanced performances of the season.
Florian Wirtz has shown that he can play as a no.10, however, this has left gaps in midfield when Salah has played on the right. In recent positive performances Slot has given the Germany playmaker more freedom playing off the left.
What this has also done, is allow him to go with a more robust three in midfield, which will in turn help to protect the defence which has conceded three goals more times than it has managed to keep clean sheets. The added benefit being that Dominic Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister can take it in turns to join the attack.
In essence, the line-up against West Ham showed that Slot is able to cope without Salah given the other player’s at his disposal.
What Slot’s plan B could be for Liverpool without Salah
Slot has already spoken about the prospect of his big-money summer striker signings playing together in what could be a plan B to Salah’s unavailability. The Dutchman told TNT Sports: “What we need to try today is to create as many chances as the last few weeks, because that is very helpful that we two players who can score. We are hoping and expecting Jeremie Frimpong and Cody Gakpo to create something for these two with Florian Wirtz’s creativity in and around our two No.9s.
“That is looking at how they normally set up and that’s the idea. They [Isak and Ekitike] can play together, they showed it against United, although it was the second half, but it means our midfield needs to be structured a little differently. Where we normally play with one [number] 6, now we need Curtis and Dom to be more defensively-minded than one of the two usually is.”
Slot needs to decide who he wants to build the team around and start planning for next season already. By that time, Salah will be 34 and increasingly unlikely to be the key figure that he was only last year. The upcoming run of fixtures will give the biggest insight into what the Reds boss is thinking.
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