Liverpool manager Arne Slot has praised Mohammed Salah for the “professional” way he reacted to being left out of the starting line-up at the weekend.
The Egyptian attacker's run of 53 consecutive Premier League starts was brought to an end when he was dropped for Sunday's 2-0 win at West Ham United when he was an unused substitute.
Slot reshuffled his pack for the game with Alexander Isak – who scored his first Premier League goal for club following his British-record move from Newcastle United – starting up front with Dominik Szoboszlai on the right and Cody Gakpo on the left at the London Stadium.
It meant Salah, 33, was relegated to the bench for the first time since April 2024 – also at West Ham – when Jurgen Klopp was still in charge.
On that occasion, Salah was involved in a touchline spat with the German coach and infamously told reporters after the match: “There will be fire if I speak today.”
After winning the Premier League Golden Boot award and playing a key role in Liverpool winning the title last season, Salah has struggled to find top gear this time round with the Merseysiders having gone on a disastrous run of nine defeats in 12 games.
Liverpool have been beaten six times in 13 league games already this season, after losing four times throughout the entire 2024/25 campaign, with Slot struggling to find cohesion after a frantic summer of departures and arrivals at Anfield.
And it was Salah who paid the price at the weekend with Slot admitting the player who is third in the club's all-time scoring list (with 250 goals) – behind Ian Rush (339) and Roger Hunt (280) – was none too pleased about being left out.
“It’s a fair assumption [that he wasn’t happy],” said Slot ahead of Wednesday's match at home to Sunderland. “And it’s a normal reaction from a player who is good enough to play for us.
“And I say that mildly because he has been so outstanding for this club for so many years and will be for us in the future. So yeah, of course a player isn’t happy not playing.
“He wasn’t the only one who wasn’t happy that he wasn’t starting, I can tell you. And that’s normal. But the way he behaved was as you would expect from the professional he is.
“He was very supportive for his teammates. Handled himself really well during the day and yesterday in the session as well. You cannot be a player that is available every three days and plays to that high standards if you go with your emotions.
“But for Mo, he is so disciplined and knows what to do to stay fit. No matter if he plays well, doesn’t play well, if he plays or if he doesn’t play he will always be that top professional. And that’s what he was the last two days.
“With all players around their world, there are also phases in your time at the club that they are human. He's scored so many goals for us and I am sure he will in the future.”
Slot also revealed that Salah – who signed a new deal with Liverpool at the end of last season – will head off to play for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations immediately after Liverpool's home game against Brighton on Saturday, December 13.
“Yeah we have [been told a date to release Salah] … it’s December 15,” said the Dutch coach. “But always in these situations there is the player and the national team involved and there are always talks about what is best for all three of us.”
The tournament in Morocco starts December 21 and concludes on January 18 meaning Salah could potentially miss as many as eight matches, including away trips to Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. “We [will] have to find a way to play without him,” added Slot.
Salah agreed his new contract in April, committing himself to the club until 2027 ending months of speculation about his future.
He would later admit that there had been “serious” talks about a possible move to the Saudi Pro League.
