Arne Slot has questioned how best to handle the heated Mohamed Salah situation as he worries the dispute will distract from Liverpool’s impressive win over Inter.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s late penalty secured a much-needed 1-0 win at San Siro on Tuesday, although much of the pre-match discussion surrounded the Liverpool boss and Salah.
After being left on the bench for the third time in a row in Saturday’s 3-3 draw against Leeds United, the Egyptian winger’s fiery post-match interview in the mixed zone left questions over his future at Liverpool.
Salah suggested his relationship with manager Slot had deteriorated and claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club in a barely credible admission to the media.
Slot then decided to leave Salah on Merseyside for the Champions League trip, but could not avoid an inevitable series of questions about his star striker’s outburst.
“It should be about what we did here. I fully understand that on Friday during the press conference all questions will be about Mo,” Slot acknowledged in his post-match interview.
“Everyone makes mistakes in life, but does the player know that he has made a mistake? Should the initiative come from him or from me? That’s a different question.”
2009 – Liverpool won an away UEFA Champions League match without Mohamed Salah playing in Debrecen for the first time since November 2009, in what was Jamie Carragher’s last ever Champions League match for the club. Choreographed. pic.twitter.com/IbSeymbWbC
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 9, 2025
Salah was speaking after Ao Tanaka’s equalizer produced an unexpected turnaround for Leeds, who looked out of the game following Hugo Ekitike’s second-half double.
His actions following the draw at Elland Road left Liverpool without a Champions League match for the third time since he joined the club in 2017.
“I separate these things. It was very difficult for the players to concede in the last minute in Leeds,” Slot continued. “We hardly got a chance away, and it was very difficult to take advantage of it.
“That was already emotional, and what happened next was emotional. There were thirteen players available with Premier League or Champions League experience.”
“You give in and then a lot of things are said. Normally that affects players too, because he has been so influential to the club and the players, so it’s never nice when something happens to their teammates.”
Liverpool still managed to beat Inter for their first away win in the competition without Salah involved since November 2009 against Debreceni VSC.
“We were three points behind Inter, and if you want top eight, fifteen is the minimum you need,” Slot continued about the result.
“The best thing you can do is win here. They have a very good team. But overall a good performance from us.”
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