Salah dropped by Slot but expected back for Liverpool midweek clash
Liverpool manager Arne Slot dropped Mohamed Salah in the 2-0 win over West Ham, sparking debate about his future. Slot said Salah remains vital for the club and is expected to return against Sunderland in Wednesday’s midweek Premier League clash
London: His form wasn’t great. Pundits were starting to criticise. Fixtures were coming thick and fast for Liverpool. Manager Arne Slot clearly needed to switch things up amid the team’s worst run of results in more than 70 years.
And so, Salah was dropped.
Indeed, he didn’t even come off the bench in the crisis-averting 2-0 win at West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday. Cue hysteria, and maybe some over-reaction.
Questions about whether this was the beginning of the end for Salah at Liverpool might be premature.
The trip to West Ham came in the middle of a run of five matches in 15 days for Liverpool. Missing out on the middle one — against one of the weakest teams in the league — was hardly a big deal, even if it was the first time in 19 months that Salah began as a substitute in a Premier League game.
“Mo has had an unbelievable career here at this club and will have a very good future at this club because he’s such a special player,” Slot said.
“Four games in 10 days, with only 14 to 15 outfield players available for us, then you have to decide once in a while to make a certain lineup and you try to pick the best lineup for every single game.”
Expect Salah to be back in the team when Liverpool hosts Sunderland on Wednesday in a rare midweek round of matches in England’s top flight.
However, it does put some pressure on the 33-year-old Egyptian to start delivering, given he has just four goals so far in league play.
And it won’t be long before he heads to the Africa Cup of Nations. That might be more of an acid test for Slot: If, in Salah’s absence, Liverpool stumbles on a formula that improves results, what does the Dutch coach do then?
There’s no doubt Liverpool is already looking to the future with the signings of Florian Wirtz (22), Hugo Ekitike (23) and Alexander Isak (26). And in Isak, who scored the opener against West Ham, Slot now has an out-and-out striker who should eventually ease the burden on Salah.
But Salah is a club great with supreme fitness and drive, and spearheaded Liverpool’s charge to the league title last season. Don’t be surprised if he becomes Liverpool’s go-to attacker once again when the team gets through this tough spell, which saw it lose eight of its previous 11 matches heading into the West Ham game.
“He has been so important for this club,” Slot said, “and will be important for this club in the future.”
Key midweek matchups Arsenal has drawn back-to-back away games in the league but still has a five-point lead heading into a home match against Brentford. Second-place Manchester City visits Fulham, while Chelsea — a point further back — is at Leeds.
Players to watch Viktor Gyokeres made his return for Arsenal after four weeks out in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sunday and will be pushing for a start up front. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has plenty of options in attack now, with Mikel Merino having filled in effectively during Gyokeres’ absence and Gabriel Jesus also fit again after nearly a year out with ACL damage.
Erling Haaland hasn’t scored in any of his last three games ahead of Man City’s trip to Fulham, and suddenly has an unlikely challenger for the Golden Boot award. That is Igor Thiago, Brentford’s Brazilian striker who has nine goals in his last eight league games and is on 11 for the season — three behind Haaland.
Out of action Chelsea will be without midfielder Moises Caicedo for its match at Leeds as he starts a suspension following his straight red card against Arsenal. With Romeo Lavia also sidelined, Reece James may have to continue in an unfamiliar role at the base of midfield.
Crystal Palace midfielder Ismaila Sarr went off injured early in the 2-1 loss at Manchester United and manager Oliver Glasner said the Senegal international might only return after the African Cup. Palace is at Burnley on Wednesday.
Off the field Pressure is building on Tottenham manager Thomas Frank after three straight losses over the past week, including a derby defeat to Arsenal and most recently at home to Fulham. Discontent has been heard among supporters, some of whom were targeted by Frank after the Fulham game for jeering goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for mistakes.
“They can’t be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you are on the pitch,” Frank said.
It doesn’t get any easier for Spurs because next up is a long trip to Newcastle on Tuesday. Tottenham has already lost at St James’ Park in the English League Cup this season and has been thrashed 4-0 and 6-1 in two of their last three league meetings there.
