Mohamed Salah returned to action for Liverpool against Brighton after being being left out of their previous match and the Reds forward is now jetting off to AFCON
Alan Shearer has explained why he believes Mohamed Salah “didn’t have a choice” but to put in a high-quality performance for Liverpool against Brighton. Salah, who was initially benched, made an impressive appearance for the Reds in their 2-0 victory over the Seagulls.
Salah found himself among the subs for the Premier League clash at Anfield following talks with head coach Arne Slot behind the scenes. having been dropped from the squad for the previous match against Inter Milan in the Champions League.
The decision to drop Salah came after the Liverpool forward’s interview where he felt he’d been “thrown under the bus” by the club.
Slot had benched Salah for three matches in a row, sparking the 33-year-old’s now infamous interview after the draw with Leeds United earlier this month.
Shearer joined Micah Richards and Gary Lineker on the latest Rest is Football podcast, discussing the speculation that has surrounded Salah’s future at Liverpool, as the forward leaves club duties to link up with the Egypt squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The ex-Newcastle striker was asked by Lineker if he thought the had eased following Salah’s cameo against Brighton at the weekend.
“I don’t know, what I do know is that he’s going away for four or five weeks, which will, maybe, calm the situation,” said Shearer.
“There are so many different ways you could look at it, both positive and negative, but we’d only be guessing. So I don’t think we should do that.” Former Manchester City star Richards concurred with Shearer, sharing his observations on Salah’s performance at Anfield.
“I think it’s nice that he’s going away now,” Richards said. “I think Slot dealt with the whole situation very well. Even when he could have thrown Salah under the bus, he didn’t. Salah’s had an outburst, and all top players have egos.
“It was nice that he got on (vs Brighton) and the most important thing [was] he looked sharp when he went on. He should have scored.”
Shearer then interjected, where he said: “I don’t think he had a choice, by the way. He had to, didn’t he?”
Lineker sought clarification from Shearer, prompting the former Newcastle striker to explain: “He [Salah] had to come on and do well, after what he said.
“And then [being] put back in the squad, he had to run around, and he had to do well. I know he missed a chance.”
Liverpool’s next test will be a Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, marking their first match since Salah joined Egypt for AFCON.