Wayne Rooney has urged Liverpool manager Arne Slot to drop Mohamed Salah from the starting XI, claiming the Egyptian is not contributing enough defensively during the club's worst run in years. The Reds have lost six of their last seven Premier League matches, crashing to 11th in the table after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Speaking on his podcast, the Manchester United legend said Salah's lack of tracking back sends the wrong message to teammates on the bench. 'If I was Arne Slot I'd try and make a big decision that has an impact on the rest of the team,' Rooney said, adding that dropping Salah would help Liverpool become 'compact and hard to beat'.
Slot accepted responsibility for the downturn after the Forest loss, admitting his tactical choices – including deploying Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back and selecting Alexander Isak over Hugo Ekitike – had backfired. The Dutchman now faces mounting scrutiny as the Premier League champions trail leaders Arsenal by 11 points.
Rooney, who has previously criticised Virgil van Dijk, spread blame beyond Salah and the captain. He called on Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch to 'pull their finger out' and suggested the emotional impact of Diogo Jota's injury had affected the squad, though he insisted that was 'no excuse for not fighting'.
