UEFA Champions League: Salah on the bench, Arne Slot explains his decision

Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in Istanbul on Tuesday night in the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League.

Arne Slot made the decision to leave Mohamed Salah on the bench. The Egyptian's introduction in the 62nd minute, replacing Cody Gakpo, was not enough to prevent the Reds from falling to defeat.

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After this second consecutive loss in all competitions, the Dutch manager faced heavy criticism from fans who could not understand his decision to leave his best player out for such a high-stakes away fixture.

Arne Slot was quick to justify his choice in a statement to Prime Sport: "We have a lot of matches coming up in the next few days. We have to use our squad, and using the squad doesn't always mean starting. Players can also come on and make an impact."

The Dutch tactician added: "They even mentioned the last time Mo came off the bench and scored a hat-trick against Rangers. And I know who was Rangers' coach back then: my current assistant, Gio van Bronckhorst. They've already talked about it."

This failed gamble puts Arne Slot under pressure ahead of two major clashes against Chelsea (October 4) and Manchester United (October 19).

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.