Liverpool manager Arne Slot has revealed Mohamed Salah’s reaction after he was substituted during the Reds’ Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain last week
Arne Slot has revealed Mohamed Salah was “frustrated” after he was taken off in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Liverpool beat PSG in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie thanks to a late goal from Harvey Elliott, who replaced Salah in the 86th minute. Despite Elliott ultimately scoring the winner, Slot has admitted that Salah was not happy at being substituted.
“I see the advantages of playing with the same team but I am aware you cannot play the same 11 every week, so I have rotated,” Slot explained. “Others don’t get the time they deserve, Elliott is a good example, but he is in competition with Salah and Szoboszlai.
“Mo was not happy I took him off and he can score for us whenever it’s not his best game, that is why I hardly take him off. Dom is a machine, runs the most every time, that is what makes it hard for Harvey, that is why I liked what he did so much.
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“Some players are frustrated if they only get five minutes but it has hardly ever happened. It’s not the headline that Mo was frustrated but his behaviour was normal, we shook hands and maybe he thought he’d score the one chance that might come…
“People say ‘good sub’ as Harvey scored but Mo would tell me he would have scored that too! A normal reaction [to being taken off]. All of them show great character and we need that tomorrow (against Southampton). They are not playing as a team who are bottom, they take risks, go man-to-man and they saw how difficult we had with that gameplan against Paris.”
Slot also offered an injury update on Cody Gakpo, who missed the game with a knock.
When asked about Gakpo’s fitness, Slot explained: “He didn’t train yesterday yet, so let’s see if he can train with us today. Again, [a] close call it will probably be. It’s not a long-term injury but he still had a bit of pain yesterday so he was not able to train. Let’s see where he is today, so I can’t give you the answer yet.”
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