Just when it was looking like things couldn’t get much worse for Liverpool, the club was rocked by a truly explosive interview from superstar Mohamed Salah after their 3-3 Premier League draw with Leeds on Saturday (December 6).
It was a real ‘line in the sand’ moment from the winger, the type of interview we simply don’t see nowadays in an age of media training and club’s that do everything they can to keep a tight lid on any potential issues.
Now, Liverpool have a decision to make; Slot or Salah, but who should they choose?
What did Salah actually say?
A lot, it was very revealing. Salah spoke at length about his relationship with Slot is completely broken, and that he felt like was being used as a scapegoat for the club’s poor form despite the incredible work he’s done over the past eight years.
Now, we’re not going to add every quote here, this piece would end up being like 5000 words long, but we’ll add the most important one. This all stemmed from the fact that Salah has been benched for Liverpool’s past three games.
When asked about that, he responded: “I'm sitting on the bench for 90 minutes! The third time on the bench, I think for the first time in my career. I'm very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season.
"Now I'm sitting on the bench and I don't know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That's how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.”
Salah will head to AFCON after Liverpool’s home game against Brighton on December 13th, and he admitted to telling his parents to make sure they attend the game because it might be his farewell. It’s all pretty definitive.
Was Slot right to drop Salah?
Remember when Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Man United and subsequently had a huge falling out with Erik ten Hag when he was dropped for not contributing to the team off the ball? This is exactly the same situation.
Historically, Salah was able to get away with not tracking back because he had Trent Alexander-Arnold behind him, getting Liverpool out of trouble on countless occasions with a passing range that no other right-back on the planet has.
Alexander-Arnold isn’t there to bail him out anymore though, and the goals and assists have dried up as Liverpool transition tactically to help facilitate new signings and become less reliant on a single player.
The 2-1 defeat to Chelsea earlier in the season was probably the moment that exposed Salah the most. Marc Cucurella came out after the game to say that they deliberately targeted him because Chelsea players know they would be able to isolate Liverpool’s right back.
Purely based on form, Slot has every right to bench Salah. It’s not necessarily Salah’s fault that Liverpool are leaking goals at the moment but prioritising a more solid defensive shape and playing someone like Dominik Szoboszlai, who has been their best player this season, on the right wing is sound logic when there is a genuine crisis of confidence.
Now, Salah did give us a little insight to the relationship between the two, insinuating that Slot has gone cold on him, even though they spoke at length about the situation. We don’t what has happened for certain, but perhaps he could have gone about it in a different way.
What are the numbers saying?
Salah and Liverpool started the season pretty well. The champions beat Bournemouth 4-2 in their first Premier League game of the season, and their star man got his seemingly government mandated opening day goal.
It wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows, though, the cracks were showing. Too often did Liverpool rely on moments of induvial magic late goals, and after the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, it all came crashing down.
Including that game, Liverpool have lost nine, drawn two, and won three across all competitions. Salah started nine of those games, including two of the three wins, scoring two goals, but he also started eight of the nine defeats.
Across the Premier League since the defeat to Palace, Liverpool have collected just three points when Salah has started, compared to five when he hasn’t. It’s not by much, but Slot’s side are performing better without Salah in the side.
Verdict
It’s sad that it’s come to this. Both parties have every right to feel like they’re correct, but Salah’s interview made this a ‘me or him’ kind of situation. The Egyptian is only contracted for another 18-months and was likely to leave next summer regardless of what happened this across the season.
As for Slot, he simply doesn’t have the credit in the bank that Salah does with the fans, and with results no longer going his way, he was in danger of losing his job before all of this happened.
Unfortunately, we now live in a world where we can see Liverpool without Salah AND Slot no longer being manager. A complete reset is what seems like the best option.