How Arne Slot handled Mohamed Salah return to steady Liverpool

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from HITC or go back to LFC Live.

Arne Slot has now put together a five-game unbeaten run with Liverpool across all competitions.The pressure was building on Slot after Liverpool managed just three wins in a 12-game stretch earlier this season.It was the club’s worst run of form since the 1953/54 campaign, and something had to give.Slot responded by shifting Liverpool’s formation and dropping Mohamed Salah first to the bench, then out of the squad entirely for the Inter Milan match.After speaking with Salah before Brighton, though, Slot decided to bring him back into the team last Saturday.Salah’s Influence felt in Liverpool’s win over BrightonPhoto by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty ImagesSalah set up Liverpool’s second goal of the match, breaking the record for most goal contributions at a single Premier League club in the process.His return hasn’t gone unnoticed, with pundits like Micah Richards and Alan Shearer weighing in on his performance and Slot’s decision to bring him back.Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards highlighted what he felt was the most important part of Salah’s display against Brighton while also backing how Slot handled things.He said: “I think Slot dealt with the whole situation very well. Even when he could have thrown Salah under the bus, he didn’t.”“It was nice that he got on.

And the most important thing, he looked sharp when he went on.”Shearer added: “Don’t think he had a choice, by the way. Well, he had to.

He had to come on and do well after what he said.”Salah has now left Liverpool to join Egypt ahead of the AFCON and could end up missing several matches, depending on how far they go in the tournament.He’s expected back sometime in January during the transfer window, and Gary Lineker, speaking alongside Richards and Shearer, believes things are now settled ahead of his return to Merseyside.Lineker said: “For me it looks like it’s, you know what it’s like, you’re in a relationship every now and again, you’re going to have a tiff like a lover’s tiff.“That’s all it seems to me. And that seems from the outside to appear to be what’s happened.” Join Our NewsletterReceive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox