Arne Slot said it was better for Mohamed Salah to ‘save his energy’ for upcoming games after he was left on the bench for Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Anfield side suffered a demoralising defeat to the reigning European champions on Wednesday night, as goals in each half from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia sealed the win for PSG.
In another game to forget – their 16th loss of the season – Liverpool failed to produce a shot on target and missed an opportunity to respond with a positive performance after Saturday's 4-0 humbling at Manchester City in the FA Cup.
The Reds only avoided another damaging scoreline thanks to three fine saves from Giorgi Mamardashvili, with Slot’s five-man defence struggling against PSG’s impressive attacking line-up.
Slot Explains Mohamed Salah Snub
Mohamed Salah
After the match, Slot explained his decision to keep Salah on the bench despite Liverpool needing a fresh spark up front in a match where they ended up holding just 26% possession and registering zero shots on target.
When asked by reporters why Salah did not play, Slot said Liverpool were focused on ‘surviving’ the final stages rather than looking to threaten going forward.
“I think in the last part of the game, it was more about surviving for us than there was ever a chance that we could score.
“Yeah, you never know, because last season we scored five minutes before the end, Harvey Elliott [scored] when I took Mo off.
“But I think this was a 20, 25 minutes where we were only defending and Mo has so much quality, but for Mo to be 20, 25 minutes defending inside his own box, I think it’s better for him to save his energy for a lot of games that are coming up in the upcoming weeks.”
It was the second game of Liverpool’s Champions League campaign that Salah was not involved in, following his omission from the squad for the 1-0 win over Inter Milan after his public outburst in December, when he accused the club of ‘throwing him under the bus’.
Salah, who has already announced he is leaving at the end of the season, has registered 10 goals and nine assists in 35 appearances in all competitions this season.
Steven Gerrard Praises Salah After PSG Loss
Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard praised Salah following Liverpool’s loss to PSG, saying the Egyptian showed he is a true professional after he was seen taking part in post-match cooldown exercises.
Despite not playing on Tuesday, Salah was out on the pitch following the final whistle and drew praise from Gerrard, who hailed his mentality for completing extra running.
"He'll be frustrated. I think he'd be sitting there thinking, 'I'd back myself to influence this game and improve proceedings', certainly from a going forward point of view. So I think he'll be a little bit sad and frustrated.
"But credit to him, you know, he's just stayed behind now and done extra running, because if there wasn't a midweek game, Wednesday probably would be your big session. So in his mind, he's probably already got his mind on Fulham and he's doing the extra work, which shows the pro [he is' and mentality you're dealing with."
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