Slot gave Salah his first start since being dropped at the end of November for Wednesday’s Champions League win in Marseille
Bookmark popover
Your support helps us to tell the story
Read moreSupport Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
**Your support makes all the difference.**Read more
Arne Slot has said he would be “uneasy” about leaving Mohamed Salah out of the Liverpool team again – but is willing to do so if he thinks it is the right thing for the side.
Salah made his first start for Liverpool since being dropped in November in Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League win over Marseille, following his return from the African Cup of Nations.
But before then, he gave his remarkable interview at Leeds when he said he no longer had a relationship with Slot and had been thrown under the bus by the club.
He was omitted from the squad for Liverpool’s trip to Inter Milan as punishment before making a substitute appearance at Brighton, but came straight back into the team this week.
Slot said he would find it hard to omit the reigning Footballer of the Year and the scorer of 250 goals for Liverpool.
He explained: “I always find it uneasy if I leave a player out and even more a player that has meant a lot for this club. You can work with a player for a long time and you have had success with them, but part of my job is making the decision that I think is the best for the team.
“But that is always an uneasy decision. Not only with Mo but every single player I leave out because of the work they put in. Their quality is enough to play, so it is always uneasy not to play players.”
Slot said he would not expect Salah, who is likely to keep his place for Saturday’s game at Bournemouth, to be happy to be dropped again.
Arne Slot is likely to keep Mohamed Salah in the starting XI for the trip to Bournemouth
Arne Slot is likely to keep Mohamed Salah in the starting XI for the trip to Bournemouth (Action Images via Reuters)
He added: “I think every player knows that a manager needs to make decisions and I think every player 99 out of 100 times is disagreeing with the manager if he doesn’t play. It should be like that because if you don’t have confidence in yourself then it is hard to play in front of 60,000 people.
“These players should have confidence that I am good enough to play and I should play. I am not talking solely about Mo, but everyone now. I think it is always hard for any player who is left out because they want to help and show they are able to help the team.
“Mo is definitely one of them. He is not a player who says leave me out for five times in a row - everyone has seen that. But everyone is the same in that regard.”