‘Very strange’ – Journalists react to ‘huge call from Arne Slot’ as Liverpool team news emerges | OneFootball

When the Liverpool starting XI for tonight’s Champions League clash against Galatasaray was revealed 75 minutes before kick-off, one man was conspicuous by his absence.

That Arne Slot makes four changes from the sobering defeat to Crystal Palace isn’t wholly surprising, particularly amid such a hectic run of fixtures, but one omission in particular has raised eyebrows.

Excluding last week’s Carabao Cup win over Southampton, when he was given the night off, Mo Salah is left out of the Reds’ starting line-up for the first time this season, dropping to the bench as the head coach shuffles the pack up front.

Journalists react as Salah benched for Galatasaray clash

The 33-year-old’s absence from the Liverpool starting XI inevitably prompted plenty of surprise from the media reporting on tonight’s game.

Sky Sports reporter Sam Blitz stated: “It’s certainly a huge call from Arne Slot to bench Mohamed Salah for Liverpool in any game, especially a Champions League one in a tough atmosphere.

“Even though the Egyptian winger has endured a quiet start to the season, he still has three goals and three assists in seven matches so far. That’s only one goal involvement fewer than he managed at this stage of last season.”

(Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

BBC Sport‘s chief football writer Phil McNulty declared: “Arne Slot will no doubt give his explanation but it is still very strange to see the name of Mohamed Salah relegated to the ranks of Liverpool substitutes for this Champions League game against Galatasaray here in Istanbul.

“Salah has been nowhere near his best this season but he’s still a player you can count on in the big matches.”

There’s a happy precedent for Liverpool fans, though!

It’s true that we haven’t seen the best of the Egyptian King in the early weeks of the season, but it still comes as a big surprise that Slot has dropped him to the bench for such a challenging fixture at a febrile hotbed of European football.

As Blitz rightly highlighted, Salah has still registered three goals and assists each in the campaign so far despite his overall performances being unusually subdued, and Alan Shearer has backed the 33-year-old to rediscover his best form sooner rather than later.

It’s the first time in almost three years that Liverpool’s number 11 is on the bench for a Champions League game…and there’s a memorable precedent that Reds fans will recall with great fondness.

The last time it happened was in the 7-1 demolition of Rangers at Ibrox in October 2022, when he came on to score a hat-trick inside the space of six minutes, the fastest treble in the tournament’s history.

It’s asking a lot of even Salah to emulate that tonight, but if he can come off the bench with a point to prove and net a decisive goal for his team against Galatasaray, Slot may feel that his eyebrow-raising call has been vindicated.

You can watch the Liverpool squad prepare for Champions League action via our YouTube channel: