Arne Slot shares Mohamed Salah theory ahead of Liverpool return vs. Marseille

Mohamed Salah may have helped Liverpool claim its first Premier League win of 2026 if he was available, according to Arne Slot, who was delighted to welcome the player back

Arne Slot believes that Liverpool may have beaten Burnley with Mohamed Salah on the field(Image: 2025 Simon Stacpoole/Offside)

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was delighted to welcome Mohamed Salah back to training after he returned from the Africa Cup of Nations and admitted that the club missed the Egyptian in recent games.

Salah trained ahead of Liverpool's Champions League clash against Marseille on Wednesday, and could return to the starting lineup. Salah missed Liverpool's last European game against Inter Milan on Dec. 9 after being dropped following a bombshell mixed-zone interview.

The Egyptian claimed he had been "under the bus" after being benched by Slot and said he had no relationship with the head coach. Slot has since hinted that normality has been restored behind the scenes and claimed that Liverpool would have beaten Burnley on Saturday with Salah in the side.

Salah will be involved in the Liverpool squad for the first time in five weeks when the club faces Marseille on the road. After his controversial interview on Dec. 6, Salah was dropped for the midweek European game, but returned in a 2-0 win over Brighton before flying to Morocco.

Liverpool then won both remaining fixtures to end 2025, but has drawn the first four Premier League games of this calendar year. After drawing against Leeds, Fulham, and Arsenal, Liverpool missed a great opportunity to beat Burnley at home.

The Premier League champion drew 1-1 against the newly-promoted side, and Dominik Szoboszlai missed a penalty. Slot said on Tuesday that Liverpool scores more goals when Salah is on the field, and was excited for him to be back in contention.

Salah returned to Liverpool training on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League clash against Marseille(Image: 2026 Molly Darlington)

"I am really happy and pleased he is back. In his absence, we have done quite OK in terms of hardly conceding any chances," Slot said. "We have started to create more and more and when you are doing that, it is really helpful to have a player like Mo, who can score goals.

"It is really helpful to have him back. We would never know but the amount of possession we had against Burnley, with Mo on the pitch would usually mean we score more.

"Creating chances is nice but we are only judged on results. Hopefully we can create the chances, be able to score more and keep not conceding chances."

Salah returned from AFCON after a five-week stint with Egypt(Image: Getty Images)

Slot confirmed that he spoke to Salah upon his return, after vowing to reconnect with the player upon his return from AFCON. According to his comments on Tuesday, no further conflict is expected.

"The relationship is the same as it always has been," Slot said. "There was only the game against Inter where I didn't take him, but he was involved in all the other games.

"Before he went to AFCON, he came on and had a very good performance against Brighton. He left in a good situation for him, and us. He went to AFCON and did what he usually does. Unfortunately, he couldn't win the tournament, but he is now back with us.

"I spoke to him today, and I am happy to have him back. I saw today that he has scored 45 goals for Liverpool in the Champions League, and hopefully he is able to reach those levels again."