Arne Slot reacts during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match between Galatasaray SK and Liverpool FC at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex in Istanbul on March 10, 2026. (Photo by YASIN AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot reacts during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match between Galatasaray SK and Liverpool FC at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex in Istanbul on March 10, 2026. (Photo by YASIN AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Liverpool have it all to play for after the international break with Arne Slot having an easy decision to make.
If ever a week summed up this season for Liverpool and Arne Slot it was the final one before the international break.
The Jekyl and Hyde performances continued with insipid displays against Spurs and Brighton bookending one of the best in the last two seasons in the demolition of Galatasaray. Three games that don’t help against any conspiracy theories that the Champions League is now the priority.
One Liverpool change Slot needs to make
Up next for Liverpool is Man City and, if Slot is to cling onto his job, beating the Carabao Cup winners in the FA Cup won’t do his chances any harm at all. As seen against Arsenal, Pep Guardiola hasn’t quite run out of ideas just yet. If a semi-final place is to be secured, Slot can’t afford to make the selection mistakes that have plagued this season, starting in the forward line.
Against Brighton, Cody Gakpo almost did more harm than good. With a pathetically low 53% pass success rate, nobody gave the ball away as often as the Netherlands international, and it wasn’t like he was trying to cut the defence open every time he had the ball. He should be dropped and replaced by Mohamed Salah, even if he isn’t fully fit after the international break is over. Against Galatasaray he looked like a player who has had a weight lifted off his shoulders and who wants to go out on a high.
What Slot has said about Salah return
Slot, reckons that the 33-year old might not be missing for long: "The good thing for Liverpool and for us is that we go to an international break. The bad thing for Egypt is that he can't go there.
“We are hoping also with what Mo has shown in the past that he can recover faster than other players might in similar situations because he takes such good care of his body. History has shown that he can be earlier back than some others. But it's only two weeks when we go again so let's hope in that period of time he can be back." If Liverpool are to beat City, they need their best players of which Salah is still one.
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