Arne Slot is happy that Mohamed Salah is important for Liverpool again. The 33-year-old winger had a difficult start to the season, lost his place in the starting lineup, clashed with Slot, was taken back into favor, was absent due to the Africa Cup of Nations, but now seems to be getting back on top of things again.
Arne Slot believes Mohamed Salah is finally rediscovering the level that made him Liverpool’s decisive weapon last season, and the Dutch coach insists the team is increasingly learning how to get the best out of their star winger again.
At 33, Salah remains one of the most influential attackers in European football when he is sharp, but Slot has openly acknowledged that this campaign has not followed the same smooth path. The contrast with last season is stark: 34 goals and 23 assists in 52 appearances turned Salah into the clear standout for the league champions, a player who regularly decided matches on his own with ruthless efficiency in front of goal and a constant supply of decisive final passes.
This season, however, has been far more complicated. Salah’s output has dipped to 6 goals and 5 assists in 23 games, numbers that, by his own standards, feel like a different player. Even when goals and assists do not tell the full story, they matter when the winger in question is normally Liverpool’s most reliable source of match winning moments. The early part of the campaign became a talking point, with Salah going through a difficult spell that included losing his starting place and reportedly clashing with Slot. On top of that, he spent time away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, a period that interrupted his rhythm and also forced Liverpool to adapt their attacking structure without him.
Now, though, Slot sees clear signs that the tide is turning. Salah’s recent contributions have been encouraging, not only because they show end product, but because they suggest he is regaining confidence and sharpness. Against Bournemouth he provided an assist, and against Qarabag FK he found the net. Those are the kinds of moments Liverpool need from him, especially as the season enters a phase where the pressure intensifies and every point in the Premier League feels heavier. Slot’s message is that Salah is not suddenly a different player, but rather that Liverpool are starting to create the conditions in which he can thrive.
At his press conference ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League match against Newcastle United, Slot underlined what he considers the key to unlocking Salah consistently: putting him in the right positions, at the right moments, with enough support around him to avoid isolation. Slot’s point was not that Salah is struggling to play his game, but that modern defending makes it easy to suffocate a winger unless the team moves well around him. When an attacker is repeatedly receiving the ball with two defenders close by and no simple passing options, even the best players can look less effective. Slot indicated that Liverpool are improving in this area, and that the progress is visible not only with Salah but across the frontline.
“We need to put him in good positions,” Slot said. “We’re getting better at that all the time, and not just with him but with other players too.” Slot then widened the conversation beyond Salah, showing that this is part of a bigger attacking project rather than a single player issue. He highlighted that he was pleased not only with Salah’s goal but also with the contributions of Federico Chiesa and Florian Wirtz. That matters because it suggests Liverpool are not relying on a single outlet, and a more balanced threat can actually make Salah stronger. If opponents cannot focus exclusively on stopping him, the space and time he receives naturally increase.
Liverpool face Newcastle United at 21:00 on 31-01-2026, a match that carries its own narrative weight. Newcastle are a side capable of defending aggressively and attacking quickly, and they often make matches chaotic, especially in transitional phases. For Salah, this kind of fixture can be an opportunity if Liverpool can engineer situations where he attacks space rather than being forced into crowded positions near the touchline. From Slot’s perspective, the challenge will be to ensure Salah is not only involved, but involved in areas where his first touch puts defenders under immediate stress, rather than allowing them to set themselves and double up.
One of the most interesting tactical angles Slot discussed was the situation behind Salah on the right flank. Normally, Liverpool’s right sided winger benefits from the supporting runs of a natural right back, especially one who overlaps at pace and forces the opposing fullback to make an uncomfortable choice: track the runner, or step out to confront the winger. With Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both injured, that dynamic changes. Salah no longer has a pure right back regularly overlapping him, and the player filling in as an emergency option is Wataru Endo, a footballer with a very different profile.
Slot was asked whether that situation is a problem, and his answer was nuanced. He did not present it as a clear disadvantage, but he was honest about what can happen when fullbacks do not provide consistent overlap. In those moments, wingers can become isolated, and opponents can double team them more easily. That is one of the reasons why elite wide players often look unstoppable in some games and quiet in others: it is not only about individual form, but also about the geometry of the team around them.
“Is that a problem? That depends,” Slot said. “It’s important that fullbacks make overlapping runs. If they don’t, wingers can become more isolated because opponents can double up on you, and that’s always difficult.” In simple terms, Slot is describing the chain reaction on the flank. If the fullback does not threaten the space beyond the winger, the opposition can set traps. The winger receives the ball, a defender steps out, and another covers behind, limiting the winger’s route to goal and cutting off the inside lane. For a player like Salah, who is at his most dangerous when he can either dart inside onto his left foot or burst into the box, those extra bodies quickly reduce the options.
However, Slot also pointed out that Endo has been doing more than people might expect from a makeshift fullback. He has seen him make runs both inside and outside, which helps keep the opposition guessing and prevents the flank from becoming static. Endo will not beat players in the same way Frimpong can, and Slot made that clear too, but he values Endo’s intelligence and decision making. That kind of player can still help a winger by choosing the right moments to move, offering a passing lane, or drawing a marker away at the crucial second.
“But I saw Endo make a few runs inside and a few outside,” Slot said. “Of course it’s different compared to having Frimpong there. Wata doesn’t have the qualities to beat players like Jeremie, but he is an intelligent player. Every player brings something different.” That is essentially Slot framing the situation as an adaptation rather than a downgrade. The overlap might look different, the pace might be lower, but the solution can be in timing, positioning, and coordinated movement.
The final line of Slot’s comments goes back to the heart of the issue: it is on the coach and the team to ensure Salah is frequently receiving the ball where he can hurt opponents. “I have to make sure Mo still gets into the right areas often enough,” he said. That is not just about passing him the ball more. It is about the patterns that lead to him receiving it in space, the support that gives him options, and the rotations that prevent defenders from simply locking him down.
For Liverpool supporters, the encouraging part is that Slot is not speaking like a manager waiting for Salah to magically fix himself. He is talking like a coach building a structure that puts his star player in situations where his strengths become unavoidable. If Salah’s recent assist and goal are early signs of a broader upward trend, Liverpool will head into the Newcastle match with a renewed sense that their most reliable match winner is coming back to life at exactly the right moment of the season.
Updated: 11:21, 30 Jan 2026
