PARIS — Mohamed Salah paid the price for Liverpool‘s 4-0 FA Cup defeat at Manchester City by being dropped from Arne Slot’s team for the Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
Salah, 33, was substituted in the 77th minute of Saturday’s loss at the Etihad after missing a clear first-half chance to score before having a penalty saved by City goalkeeper James Trafford in the second half.
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Salah remained on the bench for the duration of the 90 minutes in the French capital, despite Liverpool failing to register a single shot on target in a 2-0 loss.
“In the last part of the game it was about surviving for us,” Slot said, explaining why Salah did not come on. “Mo has so much qualities, but to be defending 25 minutes inside his own box, it’s better for Mo to save energy for matches to come.”
The two teams will meet again at Anfield next Tuesday.
With the Champions League now the only possible route to silverware for Slot’s team this season, Slot deployed Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez as wing-backs in Paris ahead of a back three of Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté.
Sources told ESPN that Slot’s final training session on Tuesday was based around the mechanics of a back three — a system he has not used before as Liverpool coach.
Florian Wirtz, who was also withdrawn during a disappointing performance against City, keeps his place in the Liverpool side, with Alexis Mac Allister returning in midfield in place of Curtis Jones.
Egypt international Salah announced during the international break last month that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, despite still having a year to run on his £400,000-a-week contract at Anfield.
The former Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma forward was dropped by Slot for December’s Champions League game away to Inter Milan after saying he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club this season.
Salah has been a regular starter for Liverpool since returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty in January, but Slot has decided to start with the forward on the bench in Paris.
