Arne Slot opted against calling upon the Egyptian’s services despite his side slumping to defeat in France. And it left numerous supporters questioning why the head coach would leave one of his most gifted players out, albeit out of form, despite the disappointing result.
Salah stopped his warm-down and approached TNT’s pitchside desk to speak with Liverpool legends Steven Gerrard and Steve McManaman, and to shake hands with host Laura Woods. And Gerrard sympathised with the winger’s challenging predicament.
“(He’ll be) frustrated,” said Gerrard. “He’ll be sitting there thinking he’d back himself to influence this game and improve proceedings, certainly from an attacking point of view.
“He’ll be a little bit sad and frustrated. But credit to him because he’s just stayed behind there and done some extra running.
“In his mind he’s already got his mind on Fulham (whom Liverpool face on Saturday) and he’s doing extra work, which shows the pro and the mentality that you’re dealing with.”
Supporters may not agree with the reasoning, but Slot clarified after the match that he had held Salah back to limit the damage in Paris. Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s strikes set the tone of the evening and the Liverpool boss was keen to ensure his side didn’t concede further.
“In last part of game it was more about surviving than us having a chance to score,” said Slot when quizzed about Salah’s absence. “You never know, as last season we scored five minutes before the end through Harvey Elliott when I took Mo off.
“We had 20-25 minutes defending in the box, I think it’s better to save his energy for the games coming up in the coming weeks. You think you can do better if you press them high and force them into mistakes. But we were in survival mode for large parts of the game. But maybe also in the period of season we are in survival mode.”
Given those remarks, Salah will presumably be handed his opportunity in the return fixture at Anfield next Tuesday. And the Reds will require every bit of attacking support available after failing to register a single shot on target throughout the entire first leg.
