Arabic version: انتقادات صلاح تزيد الضغط على مدرب ليفربول سلوت
According to BBC News,
Mohamed Salah’s latest unprompted public outburst will ratchet up the pressure on struggling Liverpool head coach Arne Slot by several notches. Salah first laid bare his frustrations with Slot and Liverpool after the 3-3 draw at Leeds United in December, claiming he had been “thrown under the bus” after being dropped following the Premier League champions’ poor start to the season. This time the Egyptian, who is scheduled to play his final game for Liverpool against Brentford at Anfield on the closing weekend of the season, took to social media after Friday’s 4-2 loss at Aston Villa to launch a thinly-veiled attack on their style under Slot and the failures this season.
Slot has been losing credit fast since winning the Premier League in his first season after succeeding Jurgen Klopp. The contrast was sharp between Unai Emery’s vibrant Aston Villa – who confirmed Champions League football next season with victory at Villa Park and who are in the Europa League Final – and porous, weak Liverpool. Salah’s attack clearly does not help Slot, who has lost the faith of many Liverpool fans as the Anfield atmosphere becomes increasingly toxic. Salah’s latest 190-word statement is equally scathing, with an obvious reference to Slot’s predecessor Klopp, as he wrote: “I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies. That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good. It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it.”
Salah’s statements have resonated with many of his teammates, with Andrew Robertson, Waturu Endo, Milos Kerkez, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch all liking the post. This may simply be agreement with Salah’s complaints about falling standards rather than rebellion in the ranks, but once again the narrative, plus the conclusions drawn from it, are spectacularly unhelpful for Slot. The other side of the coin is that while Slot has been in the firing line, he could make a fair point himself by saying those players lining up to agree with Salah, especially the Egyptian himself, could also have done a lot better.
With the season nearing its end, Liverpool’s focus now shifts to securing a Champions League spot. Salah’s comments, while potentially rallying some supporters, also spotlight the need for a return to the club’s traditional attacking style. As Liverpool prepares for a crucial match, the dynamics between Salah and Slot could play a pivotal role in the team’s performance and the coach’s prospects moving forward.
