Mohamed Salah cut a frustrated figure as he made a brief TV appearance following Liverpool's Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain
Mohamed Salah walks from TNT interview after not coming on against PSG
Mohamed Salah wasn't in the mood for interview duties after failing to appear against PSG for Liverpool(Image: TNT Sports)
View Image
Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah wasn't in interview mode despite a brief appearance on TNT Sports following a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. The Reds icon failed to make an appearance off the bench during Wednesday's Champions League loss at the Parc des Princes.
Arne Slot declined to call on the Egyptian's services despite his side slumping to a loss in France. And it left many fans wondering why the manager would leave one of his biggest talents out, albeit out of form, despite the humbling result.
Salah broke from his warm-down and approached TNT's pitchside desk to pay his respects to Liverpool legends Steven Gerrard and Steve McManaman, as well as shake hands with host Laura Woods. And Gerrard sympathised with the winger's difficult position.
"[He’ll be] frustrated," said the Kop great. "He’ll be sitting there thinking he’d back himself to influence this game and improve proceedings, certainly from an attacking point of view.
"He’ll be a little bit sad and frustrated. But credit to him because he’s just stayed behind there and done some extra running.
"In his mind he’s already got his mind on Fulham [whom Liverpool face on Saturday] and he’s doing extra work, which shows the pro and the mentality that you’re dealing with."
Fans may not agree with the logic, but Slot explained after the game he kept Salah back as a means to mitigate the damage in Paris. Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's goals set the tone of the evening and the Liverpool boss was eager to ensure his side didn't concede further.
“In last part of game it was more about surviving than us having a chance to score," said Slot when asked about Salah's omission. "You never know, as last season we scored five minutes before the end through Harvey Elliott when I took Mo off.
FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page
"We had 20-25 minutes defending in the box, I think it’s better to save his energy for the games coming up in the coming weeks. You think you can do better if you press them high and force them into mistakes. But we were in survival mode for large parts of the game. But maybe also in the period of season we are in survival mode."
From those comments, Salah will presumably receive his chance in the return leg at Anfield next Tuesday. And the Reds will need all the help they can get in attack after failing to hit the target even once in the first leg.
Buy Blood Red, our monthly Liverpool FC print publication for just £3.50 by clicking here