Salah made his first Liverpool start since the defeat by PSV in November
On the eve of this week’s game in the bowels of the Stade Velodrome, he was asked about those memories. He was also bizarrely and rudely asked about Xabi Alonso’s links to the Liverpool job.
Any noise surrounding the future of the Liverpool boss was quietened by a trademark European away performance from his side, who added Marseille to Eintracht Frankfurt and Inter Milan as the teams they have beaten on their travels this season.
Their unbeaten run of 13 matches (W7 D6) in all competitions may have been uninspiring for the large part but it is the longest ongoing streak of any team from Europe’s big five leagues. In itself, credit must be due for that. Liverpool last lost a game in November.
Crucially for Slot, it was a first win in a game that Mohamed Salah started for Liverpool since November 4, when they beat Real Madrid in the Champions League. It now looks like a line has been firmly drawn after Salah’s interview at Leeds and both player and manager can move on for the betterment of the football club.
The reality is that both need each other. Pre-match, Slot told TNT Sports: “The moments when I didn’t play him, I was trying something different. We have missed goals from all the ball possession. If there’s one player in the history of Liverpool that can score goals, it’s Mo Salah.”
It was a night where Salah did not add to his club record of 46 Champions League goals for Liverpool, even though he really should have when he fired wide in the second half, but the assurance with which Liverpool played in a 4-2-2-2 setup will leave Slot delighted and may well give him food for thought for the coming weeks.
“It says a lot about how big a professional he [Salah] is that he can be away for more than a month with a different team and be so fit to play 90 minutes for us after one day of training,” said Slot. “He was so close to a goal. It would usually be a goal from him, but it didn’t harm us because we scored three.”
With Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai operating behind Hugo Ekitike and Salah, it was left for Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez to provide the width down the flanks.
The two summer signings thrived in that respect, with Frimpong’s energy allowing Salah to focus on his attacking duties. That said, the Egyptian did put in a shift out of possession.
“Salah slotted in nicely into Liverpool’s shape,” said Steven Warnock on Match of the Day. “If you want to get the best out of him, you need continuity and consistency, so I think Slot will use him like this again. It takes away that defensive responsibility, of having to track back as far as when he is out wide.
“It leaves him fresher and more dangerous when he is not running as much. Tonight it almost felt like he was on the shoulder of his defender all the time, sniffing for chances, and he got two great opportunities where he should have done better.
“Both full-backs had really good games, going in both directions. In possession, they were very high. They were the ones giving Liverpool the width and being asked to do that side of the game. Obviously they have got to do the defensive side of things as well, and they both did well.”
For Slot and Liverpool, the challenge remains how to deal with a low block. Even if former captain Steven Gerrard insisted that Slot must stop talking about it.
“I’m really pleased for him. It can’t be easy when you’re under that pressure,” said Gerrard. “His tactics were spot on tonight. He deserves a lot of praise and credit. He needs to stop mentioning low blocks. Low blocks have been happening against Liverpool since I was playing. That’s just the way it is.”
“I know why we’re not consistent and that is mainly to do when a game is open, it is completely different than playing against a low block,” Slot told TNT Sports. “You cannot compare that with the game tonight when both teams want to press and play out from the back. If we’re inconsistent, it’s because we struggle with low blocks.”
It’s unlikely to imagine Bournemouth setting up with a low block on Saturday but Andoni Iraola may well look at Liverpool’s recent struggles and decide to do so.
But in the here and now, this was a night for Liverpool to savour. And another wonderful memory for Slot in the south of France.
