Arne Slot was full of praise for Mohamed Salah as the winger made his first start for Liverpool since November against Marseille, having returned from AFCON just a few days earlier
James Findlater Content Editor
09:25, 22 Jan 2026
Mohamed Salah warms up ahead of Liverpool's game against Marseille
Mohamed Salah made his first Liverpool start in over a month against Marseille(Image: Getty Images)
Arne Slot praised Mohamed Salah’s professionalism after the winger made his return to Liverpool’s side after over a month away.
The Egyptian made his first start for the Reds since November in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League, which leaves Liverpool well placed to finish inside the top eight of the league phase with just a home game against Qarabag to go next week.
Salah has of course been away with his national side at the Africa Cup of Nations, where he came close to finally ending his long wait for a continental title, only to fall at the semi-finals to Sadio Mane’s Senegal.
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All eyes were on Salah upon his return to his club, having left his future up in the air before departing on international duty.
The 33-year-old’s outburst last month had looked as though it might have signalled the end of his Liverpool career, especially after he suggested the game at home to Brighton would be his last for the Reds, but he was straight back into the side last night after putting the disappointment of missing out on the AFCON title behind him.
“It says a lot about how big a professional he is that he can be away for more than a month with a different team and be so fit to play 90 for us after one day’s training,” Slot said.
Mohamed Salah dribbles with the ball during Marseille vs Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah returned to action for Liverpool after AFCON.(Image: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“He was so close to a goal, it would usually be a goal from him, but it didn’t harm us because we scored three.”
Salah wasn’t the only player to come in for praise from Slot, with the Liverpool boss also reserving some kind words for Joe Gomez after the defender stepped up to deputize for the absent Ibrahima Konate.
“I saw a lot of good individual performances tonight but I would like to single out Joe Gomez,” Slot added.
“He has suffered a lot with injuries in the last few years and I haven’t picked him sometimes when he has been fit. Tonight he was outstanding and so important to us winning 3-0.”
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The victory over Marseille will come as a relief to Slot and his players after a run of four straight draws in the Premier League, and the Liverpool boss was happy to see his side take its chances after spurning a number of opportunities at the weekend.
“It’s always difficult to play Marseille because of their passionate fans and the quality of their players, but what makes it even harder is the quality of their manager. We were prepared for that. We took the ball off them three or four times in the first half but couldn’t find the player who was completely free, apart from one time and he was fractionally offside.
“On the ball we were controlled but what made the difference this time was that after we had a big chance and hit the post, they had a big chance and put it over. Usually this season that goes in. But we were able to make it 2-0, 3-0 and so that makes the perception of the game completely different.
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“Against Burnley we created three or four times more than we did tonight but tonight we scored three. Everyone can disagree with me but we played a very good game against Burnley and another good game tonight, but the tactics were different.”