Spectre of Salah still hangs over Liverpool despite win over Inter

The shadow of Mohamed Salah’s bust-up with Liverpool hung over the team as they faced Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday and the Egyptian forward’s situation looks a long way from being resolved after they eked out a narrow 1-0 win.

Salah was left out of Tuesday’s squad by coach Arne Slot after his withering comments on Saturday, when he accused the club of throwing him under the bus having been left on the bench during a 3-3 Premier League draw with Leeds United.

When asked ahead of Tuesday’s game if Salah had played his last game for the club, Slot said he had “no clue”.

With the travelling fans singing the coach’s name after the final whistle against Inter, Slot took a slightly more conciliatory line towards Salah, suggesting that the player may have spoken in the heat of the moment after the disappointing draw with Leeds.

Yet he also suggested the responsibility may rest with Salah to repair the damage.

“You concede, and then a lot of things are being said. Normally, that affects players as well, because he’s been so influential for the club and the players, so it’s never nice when something happens to their team-mates,” Slot said.

“Everyone makes mistakes in life, but does the player know he’s made a mistake? Should the initiative (to make things right) come from him or me? That’s another question,” he added.

Liverpool have one more Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion before Salah departs to play with Egypt in the African Cup of Nations on Dec.15.

Salah is the third-highest scorer in Liverpool’s history behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt with 250 goals in all competitions and defender Andy Robertson said he hoped the Egyptian’s time at the club was not over.

“That’ll be up to other people. It’s not up to me, but I love playing with Mo Salah, and I hope to continue to play with him,” the 31-year-old said.

Crowned Premier League champions under Slot last season with Salah contributing 34 goals and 18 assists in 52 games across all competitions, Liverpool have struggled to find their best form so far this term, but Tuesday’s win might give them some breathing-room.

“We know we’re in not the best moment, we know the results haven’t been good enough, we know the performances haven’t been good enough. So it’s important that this club is in the Champions League, and then when you are you have to compete in it,” Robertson said.

“The supporters expect us to go far in it (the Champions League), so we need to up our performances to get through and then to hopefully build momentum, so it was a huge result for all of us.”

Liverpool are in the top eight of the Champions League after Dominik Szoboszlai’s controversial late penalty gave them all three points at the San Siro.

Slot admitted that Liverpool were lucky to be awarded the penalty that won the game, but pointed to Ibrahima Konate’s earlier goal being ruled out for handball -- he believed wrongly.

“If that is a penalty we could have had 10 this season I think,” admitted Slot.

“That was a penalty that I don’t think in the Premier League would have been given.

“But again I think the first goal was a more clearer goal than it was wrong that the penalty was given.”

In the Champions League Liverpool next travel to Marseille before hosting Qarabag in their final league phase fixture.

Egypt switches off Reds after Salah fallout: At a cafe in a bustling Cairo neighbourhood, Liverpool games once drew wall-to-wall crowds, but with Salah off the pitch, his Egyptian fans would now rather play cards or quietly doomscroll than watch the Reds play.

Salah, one of the world’s greatest football stars, delivered an unusually sharp rebuke of manager Slot after he was left on the bench for three consecutive games.

“We’re upset, of course,” said Adel Samy, 40, a longtime Salah fan, who remembers the cafe overflowing with fans whenever he was playing.

On Tuesday evening, only a handful of customers sat at rickety tables -- some hunched over their phones, others shuffling cards, barely glancing at the screen.

Agencies