By IAN HERBERT, DEPUTY CHIEF SPORTS WRITER
Published: 14:04 EST, 13 December 2025 | Updated: 14:11 EST, 13 December 2025
Liverpool manager Arne Slot said Mo Salah's performance in a victorious return to the team was at a level that 'every fan' wanted and that he anticipated him being back in the fold next month after the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah, who arrived from the bench after only half an hour because of an injury to Joe Gomez, set up Liverpool's second and was full of his old dynamism.
His chance came at the end of a week in which he accused Slot of throwing him 'under the bus' after not being used at Leeds and did not travel with the squad to their Champions game in Milan.
Slot said: 'I think actions speak louder than what has been said and he was in the squad again and when I had to make my first substitutions, I brought him in - and he performed as every fan including me would like him to.
'He is a Liverpool player and the moment he is there I like to use him when we need him. When he came in, he had the performance like you would want him to to give. He was close to another assist, when I think he was shocked to see Virgil (van Dijk) next to him in a sprint. He was a threat and that is very important. When you play with attackers you are hoping they are a threat to the other team.
'For me there is no issue to resolve. For me, he is now the same as any other player. You talk to your players if you are happy or unhappy with things but there is nothing for me to talk about after what happened against Leeds.'
Arne Slot anticipates Mo Salah returning to the Liverpool fold when he returns from AFCON
Salah came on from the bench after just half an hour during Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton
After his club's first league win at Anfield since November 1, Slot said he saw more signs of progress in the day's star performer Hugo Ekitike, who left with cramp before the end.
'That is what this league brings,' he said. 'If you cannot be intense it is so hard to win a game of football. The best athletes play in this league. I can see progress.'
Salah flies out to Cairo on Monday for a pre-Africa Cup of Nations training camp and is in contention to play for Egypt against Nigeria in a practice match on Tuesday.