Arne Slot admits Mohamed Salah ‘wasn’t happy’ to be benched as Africa Cup of Nations departure date revealed by Liverpool boss
Updated 02/12/2025 at 14:14 GMT
Ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash at home to Sunderland, Arne Slot discussed Mohamed Salah's reaction to being benched against West Ham United, and revealed when the Egyptian would be leaving Merseyside for the Africa Cup of Nations. The Reds ended a run of three straight defeats across all competitions with a 2-0 win over The Hammers last time out, a result which lifted them up to eighth.
'He wasn't the only one' - Slot admits Salah wasn't happy being on bench but praised professionalism
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Arne Slot has admitted Mohamed Salah "wasn’t happy" to be dropped from the starting line-up for Liverpool’s 2-0 win over West Ham United in the Premier League last time out.
Salah, Liverpool’s all-time top goalscorer, was an unused substitute as The Reds ended a run of three straight defeats thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo at London Stadium.
The result lifted Liverpool out of the bottom half and up to eighth, easing some of the pressure on Slot following three consecutive three-goal losses to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and PSV.
And although Salah was less than impressed to be benched, Slot praised the Egyptian’s professionalism ahead of Liverpool’s league game at home against Sunderland.
"It was a normal reaction for a player who is good enough to play for us – and I say that mildly as he’s been so outstanding for this club and will be in the future," Slot said.
"He wasn’t happy he wasn’t starting, but he wasn’t the only one. But the way he behaved was as you’d expect from such a professional: he supported his team-mates and handled himself really well.
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"You can’t be a player that has to play every three days to a high standard, but he’s so disciplined and knows what to do to stay fit.
"Whether he plays well, doesn’t play well, plays or doesn’t play, he’ll always be that top professional."
Slot was also asked when Salah will leave Merseyside to go and compete for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from December 21 to January 18.
With the fixtures coming thick and fast over the festive period, Salah could be a big loss for the reigning Premier League champions as they bid to get their title defence back on track.
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"It is the 15th of December," Slot said, on the departure date for Salah.
"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.
"We have to find a way to play without him as he'll not be here. That's true."
Salah could miss games against Tottenham Hotspur (Dec 20), Wolverhampton Wanderers (Dec 27), Leeds United (Jan 1), Fulham (Jan 4), Arsenal (Jan 8) and Burnley (Jan 17).
Egypt face Zimbabwe in their AFCON opener on December 22.
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Slot gave an update on some of his other star players ahead of the visit of Sunderland to Anfield. The Dutchman was encouraged by the performances of Florian Wirtz and Isak against The Hammers, while he was also pleased Joe Gomez was able to get some minutes under his belt.
"Let’s see how players feel after training today," Slot continued. "Wirtz has missed almost two weeks of training, so for him to play minutes is a good thing, but let’s see. Joe Gomez also.
"It was encouraging to see Wirtz play so well. It may be the first time for other people but I’ve seen him play very well for us already.
"It was great for Alex [Isak] to score his first goal, but he couldn’t play any more minutes as he was telling me he was feeling a bit of cramp. So it’s another player to see how he does when he trains today.
"They can't play three full 90 minutes in a week, but all three can be involved if they don't get an injury."
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