Arne Slot praised the defensive aspect of Mohamed Salah's performance in the FA Cup fourth round win over Brighton
Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot against Brighton
Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot against Brighton(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
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Arne Slot praised Mohamed Salah and believes the future is looking bright for his Liverpool side. The Reds moved into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday night.
Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai fired into a 2-0 lead before Salah scored for just the second time since he returned from the Africa Cup of Nations from the penalty spot. The forward also claimed an assist as he produced arguably his best performance for the Reds since he returned from Morocco.
And when asked about Salah getting back on the scoresheet after the game, Slot said: “It is very nice to have him on the scoresheet again but what I like the most is he is scoring goals you can almost expect, but he also helps the team a lot defensively and that is something very positive.
“What the team also needs and is much more capable of playing every three days at an intensity level and that is where we struggled at the start of the season and we see more and more the quality we have, so the future looks really bright and the recent seven, eight, nine and 10 games are showing that.”
Despite last weekend’s last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, Liverpool still find themselves in the battle for the top five, as well as still being in the Champions League and FA Cup, and Slot believes there is a lot more to come from his side.
He said: "Satisfying because we scored three and that's not really been coming for us. To create a lot of chances has been. To score three with the chances we did have has not happened that many times this season so I am really pleased with that.
"I thought we were up already earlier but not many moments later we scored from a full-back and another full-back attacking the box and that tells you how much these players want to score a goal. The second goal was even nicer than the first one.
"It started out with us bringing the ball out from the back. It was two teams wanting to bring the ball out from the back, which you don't see that much anymore in the Premier League. It was a great team goal, a great switch and Mohamed Salah laying it off and the finish was probably the nicest part of the attack.
"In the end we get players back. It is fair to say we have developed a lot from two, three or four months ago. We are much more able to bring the intensity levels that are needed in the Premier League and Champions League after two days' rest.
“Most of these players are young so there is a lot more to come from them. That is why we did what we did in the summer. Giving them time to adjust also cost us too many points; that is also clear, but the team is in a good place at the moment."
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