Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has addressed Mohamed Salah’s return against Brighton and has explained why Alexander Isak is also starting on the bench.
The Reds had no choice but to omit Salah from the squad to face Inter Milan on Tuesday night in response to the forward’s remarkable outburst against Slot and the club.
Salah claimed he had no relationship with Slot and that he had been “thrown under the bus” during the club’s shambolic run of nine losses in 12 matches.
Despite this, Salah has been recalled by Slot for Liverpool’s match against Brighton on Saturday, starting among the substitutes with summer signing Isak.
Bridges must have been rebuilt to some extent in the days leading up to the Brighton match, with Slot insisting he is happy to have Salah back.
“Yes, of course,” Slot responded when asked if he is happy to have Salah back in the Liverpool squad.
“Otherwise, I would have done [it] probably differently. He’s back in the squad and on the bench today.”
On Alexander Isak being named on the bench, Slot added: “He got a knock in both games and games come quite fast.
“There’s also not so much to choose from so it’s also nice to have someone off the bench who can impact the game. I have a few others who can do that as well.”
On the performance against Inter Milan, Slot said: “Quite proud because playing four games in 10 days – that is almost criminal for football players.
“Especially if you have only 13-14 outfield players that are available. We accept playing a lot of games, but four in 10 days. That is a lot to take for players.”
Responding to these comments, pundit Alan Shearer predicted that there is a “long way to go in this saga”.
“The Mohamed Salah situation just because he goes to Afcon – that situation is not going to go away,” Shearer told BBC Sport.
“In Arne Slot’s interview, he didn’t say whether Salah had apologised or not.
“I guess straight away the questions after the game… OK great, he was on the bench, but what did he say in the meeting? I still think there is a long way to go in this saga.”
Shearer added: “I thought Liverpool were excellent against Inter Milan.
“They were under huge pressure because everything that was spoken about was Mo Salah and the difficult situation it has been for him, the club and particularly the manager.
“I thought his players that he picked responded really well – you could tell they were behind him and were backing him.
“It was a brilliant result. For the vast majority of the game they looked very comfortable, they cut out the mistakes from the game which we have seen so many times. That has to continue now.”