Arne Slot has revealed that Mohamed Salah “wasn’t happy” with the Liverpool boss after being subbed late on during Wednesday night’s Champions League clash away to Paris Saint-Germain. The Egyptian had struggled to make an impact on the tie and was replaced by eventual match-winner Harvey Elliott.
It was a switch that had initially raised eyebrows, given Salah’s imperious form for the Reds so far this season. The forward has found the net 30 times and provided a further 22 assists during 40 matches across all competitions for Slot’s side, but he failed to register a shot or create a single assist in the French capital.
In the end, it proved to be a masterstroke from Slot, given Elliott combined with fellow substitute Darwin Nunez to snatch a late goal and give Liverpool a welcome advantage heading into the second leg. When asked about Salah’s reaction to being hooked, the Dutch manager revealed he wasn’t particularly happy, but insisted the issue was quickly resolved post-match.
Speaking ahead of the weekend action, Slot said: “I don’t think Mo Salah was happy that I took him off, looking at his body language. He can always score a goal, this is why I rarely take him off. His behaviour was fine, he shook hands, but he probably felt if we get a chance then he would score.”
Before next week’s second leg, Liverpool will return to Premier League action this weekend when they welcome basement dwellers Southampton to Anfield. On the upcoming clash, Slot added: “It’s difficult to measure emotional toll of games but you feel it and take it into account, you can only look at the data, they run as much as other games but they runs they have had to make are more from a negative mindset than when you have the ball yourself.
“So we take that into account and three to four months without a break…of course, I was happy with the goal we scored [vs PSG] – it gives us a good advantage – but mentally it helps as well. Three finals to be played this week, so a week to look forward to for all the fans. I hope, I truly hope, the fans will be at their loudest tomorrow, not in the final or PSG but tomorrow.”
Speaking about Southampton, he continued: “We have to act differently than the second half against Wolves but it was also their quality too. They have had a better season than the table. Southampton take risks all over the pitch, so if you are not sharp or aren’t aggressive enough, they can hurt you. Wolves had nothing to lose in the second half and it’s hard to play through it. If you did it once or twice in the right way, you can create something. We saw this vs PSG.”
Liverpool will go 16 points clear at the top of the table with a victory on Saturday, having played two games more than second-placed Arsenal, who travel to Manchester United on Sunday.
