Mohamed Salah’s family were present for what the forward had claimed could be his goodbye to Liverpool. Recalled to the squad and reintroduced to the team after 26 minutes by Arne Slot, there were few clues in that regard from the Egypt international but the mood inside Anfield was clear. Say it ain’t so, Mo. There were tears in Salah’s eyes as he applauded the Kop after the final whistle of a deserved victory over Brighton but otherwise only signs that Liverpool, Slot and the player himself have it in them to move on from an unedifying episode. Hugo Ekitiké would ordinarily grab the headlines after scoring twice against Fabian Hürzeler’s toothless visitors. Slot will also take great encouragement from Liverpool keeping back-to-back clean sheets for only the third time this season. Continue reading...

Egyptian’s exile ends following talks with Arne Slot Unknown if he apologised to Liverpool’s head coach Mohamed Salah will be back in Liverpool’s squad for Saturday’s Premier League home game against Brighton following talks with Arne Slot. Slot revealed on Friday morning that Salah’s involvement against Brighton rested on the outcome of a conversation he would have with the forward at the club’s training ground later in the day. Details of their conversation remain private, so it is unknown whether Salah apologised to Liverpool’s head coach for the highly-critical interview he gave at Leeds last Saturday, but the 33-year-old has been included in the squad for the match at Anfield. Continue reading...

Our cartoonist on the trouble at Anfield after Egyptian’s stinging response to being dropped by Arne Slot David’s favourite cartoons of 2025 | Buy one here And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

Forward may be dropped from Champions League squad Saudi clubs set to renew interest during transfer window Mohamed Salah could be omitted from Liverpool’s Champions League trip to Milan to play Inter on Tuesday after his outspoken attack on the club and Arne Slot. Salah’s future at Anfield is in question after the incendiary interview he gave at Leeds on Saturday, in which he accused the club of throwing him under a bus. The 33-year-old also claimed he no longer has a relationship with Slot, who omitted the forward from his starting lineup for a third game in succession. Continue reading...

Last season, there was a coldly efficient streak to Liverpool. They rolled out a series of unremarkable 2-0 wins, a title rooted in unfussy competence. This season could hardly be more different; they are neither unfussy nor competent. They led 2-0 and, four minutes intostoppage time, they led 3-2, and yet still they didn’t win it. It was tremendous fun, but Arne Slot will have hated it. Just as no side can be sure whether a win at West Ham in their previous away match means they’ve played well or were just playing West Ham, so it would be unwise to read too much into this mishmash of the haplessness and excellence. Their three goals all resulted from fine finishes and one from clever buildup play, but the image of the game – once again – would be Virgil van Dijk standing hands on hips, steam rising both literally and metaphorically as he glared in disbelief at the bizarrely diffident defending around him. Continue reading...

Liverpool’s big name, big money summer signings owed Arne Slot following poor starts to life at Anfield and, right on cue, Florian Wirtz delivered. A deflected shot from the potential £116m recruit spared the Premier League champions the ignominy of a 10th defeat in 14 games with a late equaliser against Sunderland, who will count this as an opportunity missed. Chemsdine Talbi had set the in-form visitors on course for a first win at Anfield since 1983 before Wirtz levelled in style in the 81st minute. Sunderland substitute Wilson Isidor was close to restoring his side’s lead when rounding Alisson in stoppage time but a superb goalline clearance from striker Federico Chiesa salvaged a point for Liverpool. Continue reading...

Salah left out for champions’ victory at West Ham Slot: ‘It’s not a nice thing for him and not for me’ Arne Slot has admitted feeling unease at dropping Mohamed Salah after the striker’s eight phenomenal seasons at Liverpool, and said he wants him “doing something special” on the pitch rather than sitting misera­bly on the bench. Omitting Salah was Slot’s big call at West Ham on Sunday when the ­Liverpool head coach found a ­solution to the Premier League champions’ dismal run of results. The Egypt international, who will depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on 15 December, has struggled to hit his customary heights this season and is not guaranteed to return against Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says Mohamed Salah "wasn't happy" after being dropped for the team's 2-0 win at West Ham, but insists the striker responded as a "top professional" once the news had sunk in.

Game against Groningen was abandoned on Sunday Fan will be permitted to watch behind-closed-doors game A seriously ill Ajax fan will be the only supporter in attendance when the Eredivisie side complete their abandoned game against Groningen on Tuesday afternoon. The fan, named Peter, is living in a hospice and had expressed the wish to attend an Ajax game for potentially the final time. They arranged for him to visit the fixture on Sunday but there was immense disappointment when it was curtailed within five minutes of kick-off owing to a huge pyrotechnic display by a section of the support. Continue reading...

Liverpool manager Arne Slot says it is a "fair assumption" that forward Mohamed Salah was unhappy about being an unused substitute against West Ham.

Ajax's Eredivisie match against Groningen at the Johan Cruyff Arena was called off after supporters ignited fireworks and flares behind one of the goals.

Ajax criticise the "utterly outrageous" firework display which resulted in their Dutch league match against Groningen being abandoned.

Under-pressure manager won’t change defensive shape Dutchman considering dropping Konaté for West Ham trip Arne Slot has said he cannot make dramatic changes to arrest Liverpool’s slump given the squad is suited to his system and he has little time on the training ground to implement a new approach. Slot is under increasing pressure before Sunday’s Premier League visit to West Ham having presided over the club’s worst run in 71 years. He has faced calls to drop the under-performing Ibrahima Konaté and Mohamed Salah in recent days, or to shake up his style in an attempt to halt the slide. Continue reading...

Not since 2014 have Liverpool struggled so much, with questions aimed at club directors and the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz “Would you say this is Roy bad or Brendan bad?” was one of the more repeatable questions asked in the Anfield press box in between PSV Eindhoven’s third and fourth goals on Wednesday. The correct answer would have been “Don Welsh bad”, given he was the last Liverpool manager to preside over nine defeats in 12 games, back in 1953-54. But the on-the-spot consensus was “Brendan bad” for reasons that may increase anxiety at Fenway Sports Group as the club’s owners desperately await a recovery under Arne Slot. The Roy Hodgson era, airbrushed from history by some at Liverpool, is too low a base for comparisons with a Premier League champion. There are, however, some parallels between the current Liverpool crisis and the final 16 months of Brendan Rodgers’ reign at Anfield. The 2014-15 season was the last time confidence in a Liverpool manager or head coach began to drain. It was also the last time the impressive development of a Liverpool team – one that went agonisingly close to an unexpected title triumph in Rodgers’ case – not only came to an abrupt halt but veered into a steep decline with several new signings on board. FSG must hope the comparisons go no further, because that decline was precipitated by self-sabotage in the summer transfer window of 2014 and there is no conclusive evidence so far that it has avoided an expensive repeat in 2025. Continue reading...