Mo Salah situation is ‘far from ideal’ says Slot, who insists he still likes the outspoken Liverpool star

Arne Slot insists he likes Mohamed Salah ‘just as much as I like all the other players” but does not agree the Liverpool striker has been made the scapegoat for the team’s recent struggles.

Salah made the claim following the 3-3 draw at Leeds on Saturday, a third successive game that the Egyptian has started on the bench.

The experienced striker said: “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 is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.

“I got a lot of promises in the summer and so far I am on the bench for three games so I can’t say they keep the promise.”

Far from ideal is Slot’s assessment of Salah fall-out

Salah was subsequently left out of the squad for tonight’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan at San Siro.

Asked for his views on the situation in an interview with Prime Video Sport, Slot said: “It’s far from ideal, not good for anyone. Not good for the club, not good for the team, not for him as well but we reacted in the way we did, not to take him here and that tells you what we felt about his comments.”

Salah’s claim that he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by the club and one unspecified individual was also dismissed by the Liverpool boss. 

“It’s definitely not what I feel,” he added. “What, in my opinion, has happened is that I didn’t start a player who has played many, many games for Liverpool and for me. We have struggled this season, and the last part of last season with the gameplans of the opponent.

“So I have tried to adapt to that. Against PSV Eindhoven and Nottingham Forest we again looked vulnerable so I tried to do something else and that’s what happened [Salah being dropped].

“I didn’t play Mo against West Ham, against Sunderland and against Leeds but everyone can have their own opinion and use his own words. It’s also up to us to react if a player uses words we cannot accept.”

I like Mo – Slot

Salah claimed he no longer had a relationship with Slot but the Dutchman insisted he harboured no ill-feeling towards the 33-year-old.

Slot said: “I have been a player and a manager for several years. I think it always works the same. As a manager you like every player you work with if he’s playing or not. As a player, sometimes players that don’t play don’t like their manager as much as they do when they do play.

“For me, I like Mo just as much as all the other players we have in our team.”

Salah stoked the flames again this morning by posting a selfie of himself working out alone at the Liverpool training ground with the rest of the squad in Milan ahead of tonight’s game.