- Slot said the squad has trained well this week despite the social media post.
- Salah made a social media post after the defeat to Aston Villa, which pointed blame in the manager’s direction.
- Slot wouldn’t share if Salah would feature in his farewell match.
Arne Slot spoke in his press conference to the media and fans ahead of the final game of the season against Brentford on Sunday.
The press conference opened referencing the post that Salah made across his platforms.
Salah said, “I have witnessed this club go from doubters to believers and from believers to champions.” He later added, “I want to see Liverpool going back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear.” Both of these statements have clear references back to Jurgen Klopp, as these were things regularly mentioned by the German manager.
Many fans and players have fallen on both sides of the debate as to whether Salah should have made the statement or not.
The full press conference here:
Arne Slot responds to the goals of the team
Everyone involved with Liverpool will be disappointed this season as they dropped from comfortable league champions to needing a result on the final day to finish in the top five.
The manager said, “Mo and I have both the same interest. We want the club to be as successful as possible. We were both part of giving our fans their first league title in five years.”
Slot also made a comment as to how the post could have impacted team morale. However, he made it clear, “The team trained, and we look to train well in the upcoming two days so we are best prepared.”
Slot also spoke on players liking Salah post: “Social media came when I was already a bit older, so I don’t really know what it means if you like a post. What I do know, in my world, that is to see how they train I haven’t seen anything different this week compared to the rest of the season. It’s never easy after you lose, but the boys trained really well.”
Being able to plead innocent to the inner workings of social media likely allowed Slot to avoid this difficult question and move on to talk about training this week.
Slot on style of play
While results on the pitch have been the most disappointing for fans, the style of play and how easily Liverpool are played through, while also finding it more difficult to score.
Slot referenced Salah’s comments on the styoe of play, “Mo was really happy with the style last season as it led to us winning the league. But football has evolved. We both want what is best for Liverpool and for us to compete for titles and we haven’t done that this season. We’d like to challenge next season and continue to evolve the team.”
When pressed again about the style of play, Slot responded, “Has my style changed? Football has. I said this many times. You’re not the only team on the pitch, and football has changed. I see this every single game. I know, think 5/6 years ago Man City v Brentford might have been 5 or 6-0 to City, so this league is now so strong. So we need to compete and also play our brand that the fans want to see, and I want my team to play.”
This comment may be confusing for Liverpool fans who have seen a style of play this season which neither matches up with the results needed to compete nor a brand of football the fans want to see.
Slot on Salah’s farewell
Salah is set to play his final game for Liverpool against Brentford on Sunday. Salah hasn’t started in the last three matches for the Reds, but did come off the bench in the disappointing 4-2 loss to Aston Villa.
Fans will want to see their ‘Egyptian King’ play one final time at Anfield, but when asked whether Salah would play after the social media incident, Slot kept his cards close to his chest. “I never say anything about team selection, so it won’t surprise you I’m not going to do that now.”
