A lot of things went right for Liverpool last season. They won the Premier League by a whopping 10 points over Arsenal, made the EFL Cup final and were the top points-earner in the League Phase of the Champions League. Arne Slot hit all the right buttons in his first season with the club, and the players responded.
Given Slot’s incredible success in his debut season, expectations were sky-high for Liverpool heading into the 2025-26 season. But Slot and his squad haven’t been able to recreate that same magic. Liverpool have already lost two more games (six) in the Premier League than they did all of last season. They’ve already gotten bounced from the EFL Cup and suffered two losses in five Champions League games. In the process, they may be on the verge of losing club legend Mo Salah as well.
Liverpool drew against Leeds United on Saturday, only a few days after their 1-1 draw at home versus Sunderland. Once again, Salah was on the bench for this weekend’s match. But this time around, he wasn’t used at all, which was the case against West Ham United last week as well.
Mo Salah breaks silence after second time in three games not being used by Arne Slot
Salah, who is generally reserved and doesn’t make explosive statements about the club he plays for, broke his silence after the Leeds game. The player doesn’t understand what’s going on, but he believes the club has “thrown Mo under the bus because he is a problem in the team now”.
Someone wants me to get all the blame. [The] club promised me a lot in summer. Now I’m on bench so can say they haven’t kept those promises. I used to have a good relationship [with Slot]. Now we don’t have any relationship and I don’t know why. [It] seems like someone does not want me in the club.
Despite saying that he is “not bigger than the club“, Salah feels that he has “earned” the right to play consistently for the team. It’s hard to argue with that considering how influential he was in Liverpool’s title run last season.
Everything is pointing to an exit for Salah in January. Perhaps there is something that happened between Slot and Salah behind the scenes, but the relationship appears to be beyond repair.
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