Arne Slot was quizzed about the return of Mohamed Salah and his relationship with the Liverpool star at his press conference to preview the Champions League clash at Marseille
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot speaks during a press conference at Stade de Marseille ahead of the UEFA Champions League match (Image: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Having steadied the Liverpool ship after the choppy waters of nine defeats in 12 at the end of November, Arne Slot’s back-to-basics approach has come at a cost. Extending the unbeaten sequence to a dozen games on Saturday cut little ice with the supporters inside Anfield itself, who greeted the final whistle of the 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Burnley with a smattering of boos.
The noise settled almost as quickly as it rose up into the Merseyside sky but it was a clear indication that there were more than few gripes and grumbles about the performance, despite the Reds having 32 shots and an xG of 2.95.
Slot’s conscious decision to tighten up at the start of December has inevitably had a knock-on effect for his side’s attacking output and, while Hugo Ekitike’s impressive first term at the club now sees him up to 12, the second highest goalscorer after the France international is Cody Gakpo, with just half of his colleague’s haul.
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So being able to recall the third highest goalscorer in the club’s history has not come a moment too soon for Slot, despite the lingering questions around Mohamed Salah’s general state of mind and level of fitness after a taxing Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The Egypt captain’s outspoken outburst at Elland Road came at one of the worst possible junctures for Liverpool this term but his AFCON campaign has at least got him back in the scoring groove and allowed some dust to settle.
“Our relationship? It’s as normal as it’s always been, with one exception and that was Inter,” Slot said when asked about the lay of the land with Salah now. “All the other games I’ve played him. He gave a very good performance when he came in after 20 minutes (26) against Brighton before AFCON.
“We felt in the situation that was good for him and good for us because we beat Brighton. He went to AFCON and did what he usually does and scored goals, unfortunately Egypt couldn’t win, and now he’s back with us.
“I spoke to him today and I’m happy to have him back because this season I’ve only had two wingers who’ve played more than 100 minutes in the Premier League and that’s Mo and Cody.
“Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz can also play in these positions but if I asked Florian what was his favourite position he wouldn’t say left or right wing. Jeremie would be the same, but he’s shown what he can do off the right side.
“To have Mo back is of course helpful because in his absence we’ve created a lot of chances and not always converted many. I saw today that Mo has 45 goals for Liverpool in the Champions League and the next highest is Virgil van Dijk with five. So it is nice to have him back, especially if he is able to reach those levels that brought him 45 goals again.”
The extraordinary broadside from Salah after the 3-3 draw at Leeds United on December 6, when he accused the club of being “thrown under the bus” after being taken out of the starting line-up for three games by Slot, cast a long shadow at the time, but an apology to his team-mates and clear-the-air talks with Slot later that month appear to have eased the situation somewhat.
Perhaps, though, the best way for the pair to really show the soap opera storyline has reached its conclusion is by the player putting in a statement performance after being selected from the start by the head coach at Marseille’s Orange Velodrome on Wednesday night.
Slot joked that if he couldn’t have 346-goal Ian Rush to call on, despite the legendary Welshman making the trip to France, then Salah, with a mere 250, was the next best thing.
“With Mo, I’m really happy and pleased that he’s back,” said the head coach. “In his absence I think we’ve done quite okay in terms of hardly conceding any chance. We start to create more and more – and if you start to create more and more, it’s really helpful to have a player like Mo Salah.
“Because if there’s ever been a player – I think there was one who scored more for this club – that can score goals and I can still play, I don’t think I can play Ian Rush still, then it’s really helpful to have him back.
“”We would never know but the amount of chances, the amount of ball possession against Burnley, with Mo on the pitch it would usually mean that we would have scored more.
“That’s why I’m really happy that he’s back, because creating chances is nice but we are only judged on results and that wasn’t nice. So, hopefully we can combine two things. Create the same chances, able to score more and keep not conceding chances on the other end.
“Is this a fresh start? I think I just answered that. One moment I decided not to play Mo and one when I decided not to take him to the game, all others I brought him in, it’s never been an issue with me. The first time he is able to be in the squad again he is. So let’s see the lineup tomorrow if you still think there is an issue.”
