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Mohamed Salah’s outrageous comments on Saturday may have, at least temporarily, served to ease some of the pressure on Liverpool’s beleaguered head coach.
Arne Slot will have been expecting a media backlash in the wake of the Reds’ latest capitulation at Elland Road. The performance in Saturday’s draw against Leeds United was riddled with individual errors once again as the Reds lost further ground on the league’s top sides.
But the seven-point gap to the top three wasn’t the talking point for long on Saturday, as Salah’s bombshell interview quickly shifted focus elsewhere. Any analysis or reaction was shelved after the extraordinary claims from Salah that he has been “thrown under the bus” by the club.
There were more jaw-dropping remarks from the Elland Road mixed zone, such the revelation that Salah and Slot “don't have any relationship”, the claim that figures at Liverpool want him to leave the club, and even an admission he may no longer have a future at Anfield.
They were staggering comments that soon flooded social media. A quick flick through X on Sunday morning indicated there is now little appetite for a post-match autopsy after what felt like a declaration of war.
It was an interview that, not for the first time in his Liverpool career, exposed Salah’s self-centred mindset. It was puerile, egotistical, and arrogant.
Perhaps most astonishing, in his ill-judged tirade, was the suggestion from Salah that he should automatically retain a place in the side due to his previous triumphs. That is totally detached from reality and is incompatible with success in a team sport.
Salah is undoubtedly a Liverpool icon, one of the best to ever pull on the red jersey, but that does not make him bulletproof. This season, he has been ineffective. He has repeatedly underwhelmed and, in truth, been a liability at times.
Prior to being dropped against West Ham United, Salah had not produced a goal or assist in four starts, and has now managed just two goal involvements in his last 12 appearances.
There is room for debate regarding whether the 33-year-old should be in the line-up, but not on whether he should be a guaranteed starter. If anything, this has only exposed that further and weakened his position.
It also leaves Slot with one almighty mess to resolve. The Dutchman is not short of problems at present; he didn’t need another being needlessly created.
Inevitably, there will be long-term ramifications. More immediately, Salah will no doubt dominate Monday’s pre-match press conference in Italy ahead of the Inter Milan clash. One could almost pick Salah’s seven-minute answer apart, sentence by sentence, and pose those accusations to Slot.
Even before then, there is now a question mark surrounding his involvement in Monday’s open training session at the AXA Training Centre, or whether the ex-Roma and Fiorentina man will be named in the traveling squad for the Champions League encounter.
How he copes with this unwanted saga will invariably test all of Slot’s managerial credentials and how much sway he still holds with supporters.
Remarkably, social media reactions suggest many side with Salah. That perhaps underlines his popularity within Liverpool’s fanbase, and just how hellish this campaign has been for Slot.
How this will all end feels unclear. Salah’s remarks have escalated a simmering issue into an open conflict
One thing does feel certain, however. Civil wars typically end with a winner and loser. It now seems impossible that both Salah and Slot will be at Liverpool beyond the January transfer window.
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