Arne Slot faced the press on Monday for the first time since Mohamed Salah’s outburst against him at the weekend.
All eyes were on the Liverpool head coach as he sat down in front of the media ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Inter Milan.
Salah trained earlier in the day, but Liverpool took the decision to omit him from the squad which travelled to Milan.
Have Liverpool made the right decision to leave Salah at home for the Inter Milan match?
Inevitably, Slot was inundated with questions about the legendary Egyptian, with a Liverpool press officer eventually stepping in to force a change of subject.
And while many may have been waiting for him to fail, Slot came out swinging in Milan. Calm, measured but firm, the Dutchman sent a message loud and clear to Salah, with one comment in particular standing out.
Do not mistake Arne Slot’s kindness for weakness
As expected, Slot faced the barrage on Salah in a calm and relaxed way. Nevertheless, it was clear to see that the 47-year-old had been somewhat rattled by events of the past few days.
After being pushed for several minutes to explain what he’d spoken to Salah about and whether he felt the Egyptian had been ‘thrown under the bus’, Slot hardened his tone and delivered a superb rebuttal which Salah must listen to.
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“Usually I’m calm and polite, but that doesn’t mean that I’m weak,” Slot said.
“If a player has these comments about so many things, it’s up to me and the club to react and we reacted in a way that he’s not here [in Milan].
“He has the right to feel how he feels, but he doesn’t have the right to share it with the media. He has that right, but then it’s up to us to react on it.”
Firm, fair and confident, Slot showed Salah that he will not simply lie down and bow to his demands.
How do you think Arne Slot handled the fallout from Mohamed Salah’s unprecedented outburst?
Alisson says Liverpool players still back Slot
After Slot had been in the hot seat it was intriguing to see Alisson Becker follow him up.
The veteran goalkeeper proved to be the perfect player to answer questions on Salah’s situation, handling things with class and balance.
One of the biggest questions put to Alisson was whether Slot still had the backing of the Liverpool squad. Without hesitation, the Brazilian confirmed that the group is still totally behind their head coach.
“Of course we are,” Alisson said. “Before Arne came in everyone talked about the huge challenge of substituting Jurgen Klopp. It looks like now everyone takes for granted what we achieved last season. It should not be taken for granted. That should be enough.
“We believe in his knowledge, we believe in his style of play that he is capable of helping us turning around this situation.”
Your move, Mo.
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