Liverpool got a taste of what life will be like without relying on Mohamed Salah during Sunday’s much-needed 2–0 win over West Ham United in the Premier League. But Arne Slot insisted the Anfield icon’s benching was not the beginning of the end.
Slot has been facing calls to drop Salah for weeks, with Liverpool navigating what became a run of nine defeats in 12 games across all competitions prior to facing the Hammers. By the time the Reds had lost 4–1 against PSV Eindhoven, it was the first time since the 1953–54 season that any Liverpool team had lost three consecutive games by three-goal margins.
Salah has been accused of not working hard enough for the team, leaving others exposed, while his goal and assist numbers had also dried up just months after arguably his best-ever season prompted the offer of a lucrative new contract until 2027. It’s at least worth caveating that Salah was hit particularly hard by the sudden passing of teammate and close friend Diogo Jota.
“If you’re one of the players who they’ve signed and you’re on the bench and you’ve seen him not running, then what message does that send to you?” was Wayne Rooney’s take last week.
Even so, fans were still shocked to see Salah’s name among the substitutes when Liverpool’s team to face West Ham was confirmed an hour before kick off—his usual place went to Florian Wirtz instead.
Slot explained before the game in east London that is was a decision motivated by Liverpool’s busy schedule in early December—“We’re playing four games in 10 days”—and reiterated that afterwards.
“Mo has had an unbelievable career at this club and will have a very good future at this club because he's such a special player,” Slot said postgame. “You have to decide once in a while to make a certain lineup, and you try to pick the best lineup for every single game.
“With the way [West Ham] set up, with a fullback [Malick Diouf] that’s constantly very high and a winger [Mateus Fernandes] that’s constantly inside, I thought that this could help the team. But like I said, [Salah] has been so important for this club and will be important for this club in the future.”
Alexander Isak scored his first Liverpool goal to set the reigning Premier League champions on their way to a first domestic win in a month, before Cody Gakpo delivered a killer second.
