Khaberni - BBC Sport published an analytical report, wondering whether the decision by Dutch coach Arne Slot to keep star Mohamed Salah on the bench in the West Ham (2-0) match signifies the start of a new chapter for Liverpool in the era after the "Egyptian Pharaoh".
For the first time since April 2024, Slot decided to exclude Salah (33 years old) from the starting lineup in the league, with the report indicating that this decision represented more than just a rest; it suggests how the team's development, which reached a total summer transaction value of 450 million pounds, might eventually shape up without Salah.
The last time Salah was a substitute against West Ham ended with a famous altercation between him and the former coach, Jurgen Klopp, but this time, the decision was based on "a series of poor performances" by the player this season, according to the analysis.
The beginning of the solution lies in the new deals:
According to BBC Sport, Slot provided a potential answer on how to compensate for Salah's global talent, as the new lineup, which relied on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Cody Gakpo, brought the much-needed victory, ending a series of nine losses in the last 12 games.
Alexander Isak (125 million pounds): scored his first goal in the Premier League since joining, ending a scoring drought that lasted 310 minutes.
Florian Wirtz (116 million pounds): showed signs of intelligence in play and created numerous chances.
Praise and warning:
Alan Shearer (as quoted by BBC) praised Slot's decision, saying: "It was a big decision from Slot, but Salah cannot complain because he hadn’t been playing well... and the decision worked for Liverpool and succeeded with Isak."
For his part, Slot affirmed that Salah (who signed a new two-year contract in the summer) "will have a very good future at this club because he is an exceptional player".
However, the report warned that excluding this "genius" could be a "risk", pointing to Salah's historic record (250 goals in 419 games) and being the club’s third highest all-time scorer.
