Liverpool star vindicates BOLD Arne Slot strategy call

A lot of things have been said between Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah over the last week, and the media has indulged in making the most of the feud, speculating over which side is right and wrong.

In the end, a resolution to the situation between the club legend and title-winning head coach is what's best for all at Liverpool. And fortunately, we got a satisfactory resolution in the Brighton game, with the Reds securing a comfortable 2-0 win, extending their unbeaten run to five games.

Prior to the match, we knew that Salah was going to be involved in some way, having been added back into the Premier League squad, although the Egyptian starting as a substitute was a concern.

However, within the 90 minutes, Slot made a bold call which could've gone really badly. Instead, it proved to be a huge success, which should make the next month feel a lot happier for everyone.

Salah makes his EMPHATIC return

Just 26 minutes into the contest against the Seagulls at Anfield, right-back Joe Gomez was taken off for an injury - which was inevitable, since he unnecessarily featured against Inter Milan in midweek.

But instead of Slot looking towards Calvin Ramsay - instead of Conor Bradley, who was suspended this week due to breaching the Premier League yellow card quota - as the natural fit to replace the Englishman, he went attacking and gave Salah the nod.

At times, we struggled defensively, with Curtis Jones having to move in as a temporary centre-back, as Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk shuffled across, but in general the team managed things well.

It was likely we'd get to see Salah make an appearance, but bringing him on at the earliest opportunity was special to see. It was the kind of backing from Slot that eliminates doubt.

Having the Egyptian leave for AFCON without feeling positive about his Liverpool future was a likely, possibility and it wouldn't have gone well. The speculation would've been rife and that helps no one.

Instead, the 65 minutes he got will have done him the world of good. And he was excellent in his attacking efforts, using the space Brighton left for him and getting stuck into countless attacks.

He had 0.3xg from three shots, created one big chance, made five key passes, one accurate cross, two long-balls, one tackle, four recoveries and three duels. One of the corners he took resulted in an assist for Hugo Ekitike's second goal and it polished off an outstanding display.

Whether Slot was right to not play Salah against West Ham, Leeds or Inter Milan, and only give him 45 minutes against Sunderland, is all up for debate, but the decision to play him against Brighton was more than vindicated, and it should ease the constant speculation in the press on their relationship.

Bringing the Egyptian on when he did took a leap of faith. You can't really ask for a clearer example of backing up a player, and after getting the opportunity, Salah tried his best to make the most of it.

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