Numerous calls were made throughout the season for Salah to be dropped from the team, but Slot initially vehemently opposed it. The player was limited to brief Champions League appearances against Galatasaray and Eintracht Frankfurt, but started all of Liverpool’s first 12 Premier League matches.
Slot showed great loyalty towards Salah, based on the mutual trust they had built last season, especially when results took a drastic turn for the worse. The Reds have endured a run of nine defeats in 12 games in all competitions, with a 3-0 home defeat to struggling Nottingham Forest marking their lowest point.
After that result, Liverpool dropped to 11th in the table, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal after just 12 games. The title defense ended that day and, in the eyes of many, Slot was hanging by a thread. Strengthening the weak right side that the opposition had exploited at will was the obvious first step to stabilizing the situation, and that meant taking Salah out of the line of fire, which Slot did for the trip to West Ham on 30 November.
As expected, the Reds put in a better performance to win 2-0, and Salah didn’t even take the field. He played the full 45 minutes as a half-time substitute in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland at Anfield three days later, but returned to the bench for the duration of Liverpool’s thrilling match against Leeds, which finished 3-3 on Saturday.
There was nothing particularly wrong with the Elland Road attack; it was a series of defensive errors already seen that cost Slot’s team dearly. Liverpool could very well have lost the match if Salah had taken to the pitch with the same listless attitude he has had all season. So when he accused Slot of “throwing him under the bus” after the match, it was impossible to feel any sympathy for the Egyptian footballer.
