Why Mo Salah didn’t play a single minute against PSG in the Champions League | OneFootball

Not for the first time this season, Mo Salah was left on the bench for an entire game as Liverpool fell to defeat on Wednesday night. 

PSG came away with a 2-0 win from the first leg of the quarter-final clash at the Parc des Princes, thanks to brilliant goals from Désiré Doue and Kvara Kvaratskhelia.

The Reds struggled to carve out any chances of note against the Parisians, failing to get a single shot on target throughout the match. And yet, Arne Slot surprisingly did not call on the Egyptian winger to aid their flailing attack after leaving him out of the starting lineup.

Given Salah’s poor form this season, perhaps it was a justifiable call from Slot, but no less unexpected. It was the first time the 33-year-old has missed a Champions League game since that famous semi-final against Barcelona in 2019, and that was due to a concussion.

Salah went on to score against Spurs in the final, one of 13 career goals he has netted in the UEFA Champions League knockouts. With his forthcoming exit in the summer, he may well only have one more chance to add to that tally. And next week’s second leg at Anfield could be the last time Liverpool fans see him play in the competition for their club.

So, what was the reason behind his absence in such an important fixture?

Read – Enrique: ‘It’s always a pleasure’ playing against Slot’s Liverpool

Why Mo Salah didn’t play against PSG in the Champions League

After the game, Slot repeatedly told the media that his side were in “survival mode” and this seems to have influenced his decision-making. Rather than throw Salah on for a lost cause, the Dutchman preferred to save his legs for the visit of Fulham this weekend, the return leg against PSG and beyond.

“In the last part of the game, it was more about surviving than us having a chance to score,” Slot said after the final whistle.

“You never know, as last season we scored five minutes before the end through Harvey Elliott when I took Mo off. We had 20-25 minutes defending in the box, I think it’s better to save his energy for the games coming up in the coming weeks.”

Read – Liverpool believe Anfield can inspire comeback against PSG

Read – Champions League takeaways from the quarter-final first legs

See Also – Five who played for both PSG and Liverpool

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