​Team Correspondent: Salah's Post-Match Comments Openly Pressure Liverpool to Sack Slot

December 7 – In the early hours of this morning Beijing time, Liverpool were held to a 3-3 draw by Leeds United in the Premier League Round 15. Mohamed Salah was left out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive match and did not feature. After the match, Salah made startling remarks in an interview, stating he was being "made a scapegoat" and did not believe he was the problem.

Regarding this situation, Daily Mail Liverpool correspondent Lewis Steele shared his analysis.

Below is the content of the article:

For most of the evening, Salah sat in his padded jacket, his face shielded by a hood. However, he didn't hide for long.

Soon, he was sprinting up and down the Elland Road pitch, doing the post-match warm-down routine of all unused substitutes, running at a pace not seen since last season. He looked like a man possessed by anger and frustration.

Not long before, he had trudged toward the corner of the old ground where Liverpool's away fans were gathered, raising his arms and waving to them. Was this a "see you next week"? Or a "goodbye"?

Afterward, he strode toward the exit and the waiting team bus, set to travel back to Merseyside along the M62 with Arne Slot's disgruntled squad. Another disappointing draw, and notably, Salah was not involved. This week, it couldn't be blamed on him.

As he walked past, he made eye contact with several reporters he knew from his last bombshell interview and promised to return. Everyone present knew what was coming next.

When Salah speaks, the news typically spreads worldwide within seconds. "I hear Salah has spoken," a journalist friend texted from as far away as Cairo, Egypt. The rest, as they say, is history. Similarly, Salah's Liverpool career now seems destined for the history books. Or, to put it another way, so does Slot's grip on the dressing room.

· Virgil van Dijk has been vocal in recent weeks backing his Dutch compatriot, as has Dominik Szoboszlai. But when you lose Salah, it's like a Prime Minister losing his most influential and closest ally in the media.

Having won just two of the last 10 league games is bad enough, but when Salah – the club's biggest shirt-seller since Steven Gerrard – delivered his explosive comments around 8:10 PM on Saturday, you're facing a mountain to climb.

Whatever your view on Salah, whether he was right or wrong to go public like this, this seven-minute chat will send shockwaves through football. It's now an all-out civil war between Slot and Salah.

It's worth noting Salah has form in this regard. Just over a year ago, the *Daily Mail* witnessed a rainy night at Southampton where the Egyptian sought out reporters to vent, saying he was "in limbo" regarding his then-expiring contract.

So what is he now? In limbo again? The whole saga now feels like a farce. Slot's head must be spinning, too.

Salah mentioned he would invite his parents to watch next Saturday's home game against Brighton, as he felt it could be his last match for the club before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Thus, Slot now faces an extremely awkward position: play Salah in that match, fulfilling his wish but undoubtedly weakening his own authority and letting the player win this civil war. Or, risk turning fans against him by leaving him out of the squad altogether.

How long was this bombshell chat brewing? Last week at the London Stadium, when he was dropped from the starting lineup, the *Daily Mail* asked if he had two minutes to talk. He smiled, looked up as if pondering.

In hindsight, we should have known he was ready to speak, but we let him go, instead speaking briefly with Van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister.

It must be said, Salah is not a big talker. Last season, as he was often named Man of the Match, he had to do a few interviews with Sky Sports. But he only stopped to speak with newspaper journalists once – that now-famous five-minute rant about the club at Southampton.

Back then, he got what he wanted. He prompted the club into swift action, offering him a new lucrative contract. A year on, will he get his way again?

And let's not underestimate what he wants. While he didn't explicitly say it, it's clear what he desires: Slot's departure.

Liverpool have fallen from Premier League champions to a club engulfed in civil war. Star player versus manager. Salah, once the "pantomime villain" seemingly on his way out, now appears firmly in the driving seat. Slot faces the biggest challenge of his career. May the best man win.

Source: Daily Mail