Arne Slot gives surprising reason behind keeping Liverpool star Mo Salah on the bench vs PSG | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has defended his decision not to introduce Mohamed Salah during the closing stages of Liverpool’s 2–0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal. The result left the Reds facing a challenging task ahead of the return leg, but Slot insisted that protecting his star forward’s fitness was a calculated move rather than a tactical oversight.

Salah’s absence from the pitch during crucial moments raised eyebrows among supporters and pundits, particularly given Liverpool’s need to find a breakthrough goal.

However, Slot explained that the nature of the match, especially the final period, forced his side into survival mode, making it impractical to risk introducing one of his most important attacking players into a situation dominated by defensive pressure.

Arne Slot wanted to save Mo Salah for upcoming games

Following the match, Slot described the final phase of the game as a period where Liverpool were largely focused on damage limitation.

PSG’s attacking intensity had pinned Liverpool deep into their own half, forcing the visitors to defend in numbers rather than build meaningful attacking moves.

According to Slot, the final 20 to 25 minutes became a defensive battle rather than an attacking opportunity.

In such circumstances, bringing on a forward like Salah would have offered limited tactical benefit, in his opinion.

Following the defeat, he said on Salah, as reported by Fabrizio Romano:

“The last part of the game was about surviving for us, this was a 20-25 mins where we were only defending…and it’s better to save his energy for the upcoming games”.

Liverpool boss may have a point about his tactics

Players of Liverpool pose for a team photograph prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final First Leg match between Paris Saint-Germain FC (Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images)

With PSG dominating possession and pinning Liverpool deep into their own defensive third, throwing on an out-and-out attacker like Salah would have been strategically redundant.

If the midfield cannot transition the ball out of their own half, an elite forward becomes entirely isolated.

Furthermore, introducing Salah into a chaotic, low-block defensive scenario could have compromised the team’s defensive shape, risking a third or fourth goal that would have effectively ended the tie right then and there.

From the outside it looks like Slot had already thrown the towel but in reality, he was just giving his team a better chance to go through over the two legs.