'A clear challenge to Slot's authority in Salah's show of rebellion'

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Mohamed Salah's explosive interview has cranked up the pressure on struggling Liverpool head coach Arne Slot as open hostilities broke out at the troubled Premier League champions.Salah stopped short of saying "it's him or me", but the 33-year-old's claim that their relationship has "broken down" is a clear challenge to Slot's authority from one of Liverpool's most iconic figures.'The Egyptian king', as he is known by Liverpool supporters, did not roll the credits under a glittering career, but it hard to see how head coach and player can be reconciled after such personal and public criticism from Salah.Slot is already under fierce scrutiny as Liverpool's title defence crumbles. At most matches since arriving at Anfield from Roma in 2017, he has declined requests to talk to waiting reporters.This only changes at Salah's behest, like when he stood outside St Mary's in the teeth of Storm Bert last November after scoring twice in a 3-2 win at Southampton to announce he was "probably more out than in" at Liverpool as contract negotiations were slow to progress.The impasse was resolved when he signed a two-year deal in April, Salah marking the deal by sitting on a throne in his Liverpool kit at a floodlit Anfield.It was all a far cry from the rancour that was exposed at Elland Road on Saturday night.Salah is now more out than in than he has ever been.

And if his time at Liverpool ends in such acrimony, it will be a sad farewell.If Salah's words are a challenge to Liverpool and Slot, then it is a battle he is far less likely to win than he was at this time last season.It is understandable that such a proud character would be hurt by being relegated to the bench, such has been his standing at Liverpool.Salah has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup at Liverpool, scoring 250 goals. In the Premier League, he has scored 188 goals and had 88 assists.He is third on Liverpool's all-time record list of goalscorers, behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.This season, however, Salah has started to look his age.

It was not the seismic shock it might once have been when Slot dropped him to the bench for the 2-0 win at West Ham United.Salah's form this term has offered a stark contrast to last season, when he seemed driven by a personal mission to bring the Premier League title back to Anfield, which he duly did, scoring 34 goals in 50 starts in all competitions.In this campaign, Salah has made 16 starts, scoring only five goals.Slot, a head coach searching for answers as the champions struggled, needed to look for solutions and one of those was dropping Salah.The Dutchmen also had to explore how he would cope without Salah, not just immediately but in the longer term as he prepares to join Egypt in the Africa Cup Of Nations on 15 December.Salah's form did not warrant automatic inclusion as it once did at Liverpool. Even greats like Salah cannot defy the passage of time.The next game at Anfield, when Liverpool play Brighton next Saturday, will be played out under the most intense microscope, especially if Slot and Salah are in close proximity.Salah is the idol of Liverpool's fans, who have not turned their anger on Slot despite such a drop in form and standards this season.Liverpool's next step will also be intriguing, but it is hard to see them sacrificing a manager because of criticism from a player reaching the end of his career, no matter how magnificent that career has been.Salah's status and steely character has shown him challenge authority before, such as when he engaged in a furious touchline spat with then manager Jurgen Klopp when West Ham United scored while he was waiting to come on as a substitute in April 2024.On that occasion, Salah declined to stop in the mixed zone, the area where players can choose to speak to the media, simply saying: "If I speak, there will be fire."Salah chose to speak at Elland Road.