MILAN (AP) — Liverpool fans showed which side they are on in the dispute between club great Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot.
The traveling group of around 5,000 supporters loudly chanted Slot’s name before and after Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Inter Milan in the Champions League, in an unequivocal show of support for the Liverpool coach.
Slot had dropped Salah from the squad that traveled to Italy following the forward’s stinging public criticism of the club on Saturday.
“That means a lot to me,” Slot said about the fans’ support. “But it’s not about me, it’s about the team. And they were also there for the team.
“So many away fans in difficult circumstances for the club and it shows you one more time: If things go against us or if there’s a hard time, we’re all there for each other and we fight together and that’s what the fans of the players showed today.”
Salah has established himself as one of Liverpool’s greatest players — winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League and a host of other trophies.
Last season he was named player of the year for the third time after scoring 34 goals in all competitions and firing Liverpool to a record-equaling 20th league title.
But his form has dipped during a troubled start to the season for Liverpool, which is 10th in the Premier League.
Salah had lashed out Saturday after he was benched for the third game in a row, saying it “seems like the club has thrown me under the bus,” and he doesn’t have “any relationship” with Slot.
Following the fallout from his comments, Salah posted Tuesday a picture for his 85 million followers across Instagram and X of him alone in the gym at Liverpool’s training complex.
Slot said on the eve of the match in Milan that he had “no clue” whether Salah would play again for the club and he tried to swerve further questions about the Anfield icon’s future on Tuesday.
“Where I stand is that tonight it should be all about the players that are here,” Slot said. “In the rich history Liverpool have, they had many of these evenings but, in the season we are in, I think if you have an away win in this stadium against such a strong team then it should be about the midfield … or about the ones that are here.
“They deserve all the credits. I can fully understand on Friday that I will get a lot of questions about other things. But tonight it should be about the ones that are here.”
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
