Mohamed Salah was unhappy about being benched at West Ham. For Liverpool, that can only be a good thing

Predictable though it was, it augurs well for Liverpool that Mohamed Salah was unhappy about being dropped against West Ham on Sunday.

As the 33-year-old Egypt international demonstrated last season, he is never more dangerous than when harbouring a simmering sense of injustice. It was around this time last year, with negotiations over a new contract making slow progress, a frustrated Salah claimed he was “more out than in” at Anfield – even as he set about compiling a 34-goal, 23-assist season for the ages. 

Now, after being benched at the London Stadium following a slow start to Liverpool’s stuttering campaign and a barrage of external criticism, he will once again feel he has suffered a low blow. 

Arne Slot’s decision to take him out of the firing line marked Salah’s first omission from a Premier League starting lineup when available for selection since April 2024, when he was also omitted at West Ham, infamously clashing with Jürgen Klopp on the touchline before coming on late in a 2-2 draw. 

As Slot conceded on the eve of Sunderland’s Premier League visit to Anfield, the talismanic striker did not take his omission well, however professionally he may have handled the indignity of remaining on the bench for the entire duration of a league game for the first time since June 2020. 

What did Arne Slot say about Mohamed Salah’s reaction to being benched at West Ham?

“That’s a normal reaction from a player that’s good enough to play for us,” said Slot, acknowledging that it was “a fair assumption” Salah was unhappy. “I say it mildly, because he’s been so outstanding for this club for so many years, and will be for us in the future. 

“So of course a player isn’t happy he isn’t playing. He wasn’t the only one that wasn’t happy he wasn’t starting, I can tell you, and that’s normal. But the way he behaved was as you’d expect from the professional he is. He was very supportive of his team-mates and handled himself really well during the day, and yesterday in the session as well. 

“You cannot be a player that’s available every three days and play at that high standard if you go with your emotions. But for Mo, he’s so disciplined, he knows what to do to stay fit. No matter if he plays well, doesn’t play well, if he plays or if he doesn’t play, he will always be that top professional, and that’s what he was the last two days.”

Why Mohamed Salah’s value to Liverpool cannot be overemphasised

There will be plenty of keyboard warriors who contend that is the least to be expected from a player on a salary understood to be in the region of £400,000 a week. The naysayers will argue Salah shouldn’t need to be dropped to be spurred into action; that he must look beyond wounded personal pride and acknowledge that the team takes precedence.  

Yet that is to miss the point. As the third-highest goalscorer in Liverpool history, Salah’s value cannot simply be quantified in monetary terms. And if the Egyptian feels he should play every game, it should not be forgotten that it is precisely that attitude that drove his Anfield career to such extraordinary heights in the first place. Personal ambition is an essential component of team success, especially when it comes to transformative talents like Salah, to players who define big matches. 

Time and again over the course of his time on Merseyside, when Liverpool have needed a goal, the Egyptian has stepped up. It was Salah who scored Liverpool’s opener from the penalty spot in Madrid in 2019, laying the foundations for the club’s sixth European Cup victory. It is Salah, 59 of whose 250 goals in a red shirt have come in the final 15 minutes of games, who has so often delivered when the need was greatest. And the more formidable the opponent, the likelier the Egyptian has been to come up with goods. Sixteen of his goals have come against Manchester United, 13 against Manchester City, 10 versus Arsenal. Salah has consistently shown himself to be a man for the big occasion.

Why Mohamed Salah’s influence invites comparison with Steven Gerrard

In that sense, he resembles Steven Gerrard, another Liverpool legend who defined a European Cup triumph. Gerrard scored crucial goals everywhere from Istanbul to Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, where a stoppage-time screamer drew Liverpool level in an FA Cup final that looked lost, and it is perhaps no coincidence that he too had little tolerance for being dropped. Gerrard was rarely overlooked when fit and available but, when Brendan Rodgers benched him for a 2014 Champions League game against Real Madrid, it sounded the death knell on his Anfield career.

“That was the night, tucked away in the depths of a dugout at the Bernabéu, when my disappointment ran so deep, I almost made up my mind it was time for a change,” Gerrard, who was 34 at the time, later recalled in his autobiography. “If Brendan’s managing of my games meant that I would miss playing against Real, it seemed as if I had seen the end. How could I go on playing for Liverpool another year if these were the kind of empty nights that awaited me? My career would never be the same again.”

Salah remains a long way from that point. The Sunderland game will be followed by a trip to Leeds on Saturday evening. With fixtures coming thick and fast, it is unthinkable he will not return sooner rather than later. 

Mohamed Salah set to depart for Africa Cup of Nations in mid-December

Beyond that, though, lies the Africa Cup of Nations. Slot has confirmed Salah will depart for the tournament on 15 December, two days after Liverpool host Brighton at Anfield. With the final on 19 January, the Egyptian could be absent for more than a month, potentially missing six games across all competitions. With that in mind, it is hardly surprising if he was left unimpressed by missing a game for which he was present.

And yes, Salah’s form this season has been below par by his standards (although it should be noted that has neither prevented him from racking up four goals and two assists in 12 games, nor stopped him from creating 24 chances, the fifth most in the league). This is not the place to get into the reasons behind that dropoff, suffice to say some of the recent negativity surrounding his role in the team has been grotesquely and wilfully overblown. That trend continued on Tuesday morning, when Slot had barely completed his press briefing before the “Salah unhappy at Liverpool” headlines began to appear.      

Whatever the merits or otherwise of dropping him at West Ham, history has shown that an aggrieved Salah is a dangerous Salah. It would be no surprise if he signed off by offering a reminder of two of his worth before joining up with Egypt.