Mohamed Salah returned to Liverpool action this week as a starter for Arne Slot in the Champions League win at Marseille
Mohamed Salah #11 of Liverpool FC warms up
Mohamed Salah is back playing for Arne Slot's Liverpool over one month after a major fall-out(Image: Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
View Image
Former Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam believes Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot have buried the hatchet over comments the attacker made prior to his involvement at the recent Africa Cup of Nations. Fans were fearing they may had seen the last of the Egyptian in a Reds uniform when he left for the tournament in December.
However, Salah made his long-awaited return on Wednesday night in Marseille. Not only that, the 33-year-old was named in Slot's starting XI who came away with an important 3-0 win that puts Liverpool in the box seat for automatic Champions League round of 16 qualification.
Salah's professionalism was immediate hailed by his head coach and all appears to be merry on Merseyside as the attacker hopes to get back on the scoresheet in the Premier League against Bournemouth this weekend.
"Salah’s had four weeks to reflect and think about what he's done and said but I think the talks would have been cleared before he left for AFCON because they didn’t want to come back to that," Adam told BBC Sport.
The former midfielder, who won the League Cup with the Reds in 2012, added: "If there were still problems, he wouldn’t have played today (vs Marseille)."
Salah had previously been named on the bench for three consecutive Premier League matches and had only appeared as a substitute in one of them. After the third, a 3-3 draw away to Leeds United in early December, he addressed the ECHO and other media outlets stating he had been "thrown under the bus" by Liverpool amid a deteriorating relationship with his head coach during the side's poor run of form.
Slot responded by dropping Salah for one match - the Champions League trip to Inter Milan - as clear-the-air talks were held behind the scenes.
Steven Gerrard also gave his verdict on the matter this week, telling TNT Sports how he believes all involved must find a way to move on together.
FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the ECHO's dedicated LFC Facebook page
"I think the break for both parties, Liverpool and Salah, when they had their disagreement, came at a good time with AFCON, where they could both breathe and digest the fallout.
"With time, you would like to think it’s a fresh start for both. The manager has shown faith in him tonight by putting him straight into the line-up.
"I think that’s the right decision on the back of the weekend because they are looking for that killer instinct in the box," the former Reds skipper began.
Gerrard then added: "I think you need to move on.
"These things happen; it’s a man’s game. Managers have to make big decisions. Players are emotional, every player wants to play every game, especially Mo Salah, what he delivered last year, he is such an iconic figure at the club.
"There is probably a part of Mo that feels he should be an automatic pick every game. You can understand that in Mo’s shoes, but the manager has to make tough decisions.
"Mo wasn’t in good form, so he is well within his rights to put him on the bench or not play him, or not bring him on.
"These fallouts happen; I’ve experienced it before with other players and it’s important that you both move on from it as quick as you can because the most important thing is the team and the club.
"Liverpool need Mo Salah and they need him playing well, on fire, scoring goals because they are in a better place but need to stop getting these draws that are hijacking them getting to where they should be, which is push further up the Premier League and be higher up in this league as well."