‘Shockwaves’ – Sky reporter reacts to ‘huge’ Arne Slot decision prior to West Ham v Liverpool
There are some eye-catching inclusions and omissions regarding the Liverpool starting XI to face West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
Alisson Becker and Florian Wirtz return from illness and injury respectively, while Joe Gomez comes in for his first Premier League start of the season and Alexander Isak is recalled.
Conversely, Mo Salah is conspicuous by his absence from the Reds’ starting line-up, with Arne Slot making the big call to drop the Egyptian winger to the substitutes’ bench, something that Wayne Rooney had recently implored the head coach to do.
Slot sends ‘shockwaves’ by dropping Salah v West Ham
It’s the first time that the 33-year-old hasn’t started for Liverpool in the current Premier League campaign, and although our number 11 has been far from his best in recent weeks, his omission from the XI still raised quite a few eyebrows prior to kick-off against West Ham.
Reacting to the team news for Sky Sports‘ live web commentary, Peter Smith said (12:57): “Huge team news from Liverpool – Mo Salah has been dropped for a Premier League game for the first time under Arne Slot.
“It’s the call many had suggested Slot make, but one which still surprises and sends out shockwaves. Salah – the hero of Liverpool’s title triumph last season who has endured a well-below-par start to this one – is on the bench.”
Proof that no Liverpool player is truly safe from being benched
Prior to today, Salah had been ever-present in the Premier League this season, barring his 85th-minute substitution against Manchester United in October, so it was quite noteworthy to see Slot axing him from the starting XI.
Even though the Egyptian has a comparatively low goal tally for the campaign by his stratospheric standards (just five goals so far) and was pilloried by Didi Hamann over one of PSV Eindhoven’s four goals in midweek, it’s still a big call by the head coach to drop him for this fixture.
The 33-year-old has scored 13 times in 18 previous outings against West Ham, including a goal and two assists when the Reds won 5-0 at the London Stadium 11 months ago and doubles at the Stratford venue in November 2017 and January 2021 (Transfermarkt).
While Salah’s legendary status at Liverpool is beyond question, many supporters might approve of Slot’s decision to drop him to the bench today, as it sends out a firm message that no player is totally immune from being pulled from the starting XI.
The winger won’t have appreciated the call from his head coach, but hopefully it’ll serve as motivational fuel for him to strike back with a vengeance when he’s next on the pitch, either as a substitute this afternoon or against Sunderland and Leeds later this week.
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