The Shocking Truth Behind Mohamed Salah's Champions League Streak Coming to a Halt
Liverpool boss Arne Slot explained that squad rotation was behind Mohamed Salah's surprising exclusion from Tuesday's Champions League encounter against Galatasaray.
This marked the first occasion since October 2022 that Salah had been relegated to the substitute bench for a Champions League fixture. During the following 14 straight starts, Liverpool's consistent star performer accumulated seven goals alongside an equal number of assists.
"Mo has accumulated significant playing time already, so we chose to approach it this way today and during the first half I was reasonably satisfied," Slot commented in the heated atmosphere following a 1–0 defeat. Although completing the entire 90 minutes in Saturday's loss to Crystal Palace, Salah had been given a break for the previous week's Carabao Cup meeting with Southampton.
"We face numerous fixtures in the upcoming period, we have an important match approaching, we must make use of our entire squad, and utilizing doesn't necessarily mean starting from kickoff," the Dutch manager informed Prime Sport prior to the match.
"Players can also make an entrance from the substitutes' bench. In numerous matches, players have influenced the outcome after coming on as substitutes," Slot contended. "And they were indeed discussing the previous occasion when Mo netted three times after entering as a substitute against Rangers. And I'm aware of who Rangers' manager was then. That's my current assistant, Gio [van Bronckhorst]. So they've already discussed this matter."
That cheerful demeanor had completely disappeared by the conclusion of Liverpool's second consecutive loss.
How Galatasaray Disrupted Slot's Strategic Vision
Jeremie Frimpong was assigned the responsibility of replacing Salah's role in Istanbul. More commonly positioned on the right side of Liverpool's defensive line this season, the Netherlands player does possess experience in more forward-thinking roles.
"Jeremie featured frequently as a wingback or right winger during his time at [Bayer] Leverkusen," Slot maintained following Tuesday's loss. "He operated in that role during our preseason preparations. He represents one of the few players capable of stepping into Mo [Salah]'s position. I don't observe many alternatives who can perform in that role which suits their strengths, and I believe it's among Jeremie's preferred positions. He consistently plays there for his national team."
With Federico Chiesa unavailable for selection and while Conor Bradley continues his gradual return from an injury-plagued summer, Slot opted for Dominik Szoboszlai in Frimpong's abandoned right-back position.
The Dutch strategist explained the reasoning behind this surprising adjustment: "Typically, typically, typically they [Galatasaray] deploy their left winger in an inverted role with the fullback pushing forward significantly. So, the left winger moves into midfield areas and Dom operates in midfield while Jeremie functions as a type of wingback." The plan didn't unfold as expected.
"They executed the reverse approach today," Slot lamented, "which occurs frequently against us when they alter their tactics."
Galatasaray's left winger Barış Alper Yılmaz, cutting inside from the flank, collided with an unsuspecting Szoboszlai inside the penalty area within the first 15 minutes, earning a spot-kick which Victor Osimhen converted for the match's sole goal.