Arne Slot accepts villain label as Mohamed Salah begins farewell tour - but FA Cup represents chance for redemption
Slot is set to outlast the legendary Egyptian at Anfield, but an FA Cup quarter-final against Man City presents opportunity for redemption for both
Ten days on from Mohamed Salah ’s announcement that he will leave Liverpool , and four months on from an incendiary interview when he said he had no relationship with Arne Slot , the Dutchman said he had no regrets. In one respect, anyway. Slot is happy with the way he handled the Salah situation.
“Yes,” he said. “I look back at this season thinking that I made a few decisions that could have been better, but I’m not talking about this specific thing with Mo. ” Slot has paid tribute to Salah this week, saying the third-highest scorer in Liverpool’s history will “leave the club a legend”.
He is nevertheless aware that, for some, he is the villain of the piece, the manager who brought the Egyptian king’s reign at Anfield to an end. Slot is seen as the bad guy. “That’s in general at the moment, isn’t it?
” smiled Slot, able to laugh at himself. He may well outlast Salah, but quarter-finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup could set up a glorious farewell to the forward, fit to return against Manchester City on Saturday, or an anticlimactic end to the 33-year-old’s Liverpool career. Indirectly, Liverpool’s previous trip to the Etihad Stadium formed part of the build-up to Salah’s demotion and then his explosion.
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