Arne Slot said there was “no issue to resolve” after Mohamed Salah returned for Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Brighton on Saturday — a week after he took aim at the club in a fiery interview.
Hugo Ekitike scored at Anfield after 46 seconds and Salah, brought off the substitutes’ bench in the first half, set up the Frenchman’s second goal after the break.
Salah, 33, last week accused the faltering Premier League champions of throwing him “under the bus” after he was left on the bench for the 3-3 draw at Leeds — the third match in a row that he had not started.
The Egyptian also said he had no relationship with Liverpool manager Slot when he spoke to reporters after the match at Elland Road.
He was omitted from the midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan, which Liverpool won 1-0, and was the subject of intense scrutiny in the build-up to Saturday’s home game.
Slot said at Friday’s pre-match press conference that he would speak to the forward later in the day, adding: “I have no reasons (for) not wanting him to stay.”
Speaking to reporters after the win against Brighton, the Dutchman said there was “no issue to resolve” with Salah, whose corner was headed home by Ekitike in the 60th minute.
“For me he’s now the same as any other player,” he said. “You talk to your players if you’re happy or unhappy with things, but there’s nothing for me to talk about after what happened against Leeds, after the game.”
Slot confirmed the winger was left out of the squad for the fixture in Italy due to his interview but defended his own approach.
“The question is always, and everybody has a different opinion about that, should he be (left out) once, twice, three times, four times, four months, 12 years?
“Every manager makes different decisions in that, but he wasn’t involved in the game against Milan and I spoke to him yesterday.
– Actions louder than words –
“And I think, as I usually never say anything about (what) we talk about, I’m not going to make an exception now, but I think actions speak louder than what has been said.
“He was in the squad again and when I had to make my first substitutions, I brought him in. And he performed as I think every fan, including me, would like him to perform today.”
Salah now has 277 goal involvements for Liverpool in the Premier League — 188 goals and 89 assists — a new record by a player for a single club in the competition, overtaking Wayne Rooney’s mark for Manchester United.
A smiling Salah was asked by reporters for a comment after the match but turned them down.
“Oh God, two weeks in a row? No,” he said.
The Egypt international, who signed a new two-year contract in April, now departs for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The length of his absence depends on how far Egypt go in the competition in Morocco, with the final on January 18.
The forward, who has been linked with a move to the wealthy Saudi Pro League, had invited his family to the Brighton game as speculation swirled over his future.
Slot laughed off a question about whether the match could have been Salah’s last for the club.
“He wasn’t the only player who walked around the pitch thanking the fans, because the fans deserved a thank you from us,” he said.
He added: “Mo is going to go to the AFCON now, I hope he’s going to do very well, and in the meantime we have to play here without him, with not that many players available at the moment.”
Salah, third in Liverpool’s all-time scoring charts with 250 goals, has won two Premier League titles and one Champions League crown during his spell on Merseyside.
He scored 29 Premier League goals to win the Premier League Golden Boot last season as Liverpool romped to a 20th English league title, but has managed just four league goals during the current campaign.
Saturday’s victory for Liverpool was their first at Anfield since November 4 and lifts Slot’s men to sixth in the table, easing the pressure on the beleaguered coach.
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© Agence France-Presse
