Liverpool manager Arne Slot confirmed Mohamed Salah was named on the bench for Wednesday’s 1–1 draw with Sunderland to try and improve the team’s defence.
Salah was “unhappy” to be left unused on the bench during the weekend victory over West Ham United, and the Egyptian was forced to accept another start on the bench on Wednesday, although he did make it on for the second half of the draw.
The idea of Salah being benched had been suggested by frustrated Liverpool fans well before last weekend, with the 33-year-old’s limited defensive output not sustainable during the team’s miserable run of form, and Slot confirmed that was the reason for his latest decision to keep Salah on the bench.
“In the first half, we played with [Dominik] Szoboszlai off the right to be defensively strong enough not to concede enough as we did in the last few weeks,” Slot reflected.
The Reds boss was then asked whether he planned to use Salah more in the coming weeks because of his impending departure to the Africa Cup of Nations—clubs must release players no later than Dec. 15—or if he would continue to pick the best team for a specific opponent.
“That’s always the situation,” Slot stressed. “It has nothing to do with Mo or anyone.”
