Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has stated that head coach Arne Slot cannot win in how he handles Mohamed Salah ahead of the team's final Premier League match against Brentford on Sunday. Salah's recent social media post, which used terminology associated with former manager Jurgen Klopp, was seen as a veiled criticism of Slot.
The Egypt captain is set to play his last game for Liverpool at Anfield, a match that could determine the club's Champions League qualification. Carragher acknowledged that the result takes priority, but if qualification were already secured, Slot might have more reason to bench Salah. However, he warned that such a move would likely antagonise fans who remain firmly behind the departing star and have grown disillusioned with Slot's tactics.
“I don't think a manager should ever cut off his nose to spite his face, he should always do what's going to give the team the best chance of a result – if he needs a result,” Carragher told The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast. “If he doesn't need a result and Liverpool are already qualified then that might be something different. The position Arne Slot is in right now with the supporters, it is very difficult not to give Mo Salah some sort of big send off. You almost can't win in some ways.”
Salah's post, liked by several teammates, called for Liverpool to return to being a “heavy metal attacking team,” a direct reference to Klopp's style. This is not the first time Salah has publicly criticised Slot; in December, after being benched, he claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” and said he no longer had a relationship with the manager. The pair later reconciled, but the March announcement that Salah would leave at the end of his two-year deal suggested ongoing tensions.
