Mo Salah Fallout Tests Arne Slot’s Control of the Liverpool Dressing Room

The Mo Salah fallout could be a defining moment for Arne Slot and how much control he has over the Liverpool dressing room.

Arne Slot’s first season at Liverpool unfolded with little turbulence, and it seemed he was a seamless successor to Jurgen Klopp.

But the pressure around him has now ramped up.

Mohamed Salah’s public outburst has dominated headlines, dragging Liverpool into crisis-management mode at a time when performances on the pitch have turned flat and oddly joyless.

Slot still retains the support of key figures at the club, but the situation has exposed just how fragile his authority has become during a turbulent run of form.

Why Did Mo Salah Clash With Slot?

The fallout erupted after Salah was benched for three games in a row and now won’t play vs Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Salah’s frustration boiled over after he was an unused substitute in the 3-3 draw with Leeds, where he said that Liverpool have “thrown him under the bus”.

Slot, clearly blindsided, repeatedly stressed he was surprised by Salah’s comments in his latest press conference and insisted the relationship had not broken down – at least from his perspective.

Even so, the club have opted to leave Salah in Liverpool, a decision taken jointly by sporting director Richard Hughes and supported by Michael Edwards.

Salah has since left a cryptic update on social media, posting a lonely selfie in the gym.

There has been no formal disciplinary action, but Salah’s status will be reassessed only after Liverpool return from Italy and prepare for Brighton.

The Egypt star is then scheduled to leave for AFCON the following Monday.

Why Was Salah Dropped?

Slot has defended his selections by pointing toward Liverpool’s long-standing issues breaking down low blocks and the need for different attacking profiles in his 4-4-2 diamond.

He also made clear that Hugo Ekitike’s inclusion over Salah was a tactical choice rather than a disciplinary one.

Some fans felt Salah should have walked straight back into the team anyway, but Slot insisted he was acting in the team’s best interests.

And that isn’t necessarily wrong. Liverpool haven’t lost since taking Salah out of the XI, albeit against teams they should really be beating.

But dropping Liverpool’s greatest modern goalscorer during a stretch where the club desperately needed results doesn’t look good optics-wise.

Has Salah Undermined Slot?

Internally, the club are adamant they are still fully behind Slot.

Senior figures have backed him during a difficult spell marred by injuries and the bedding in of new signings.

But even with internal support, the pressure on Slot isn’t going away.

Fans are split: some, echoing Jamie Carragher, think Salah crossed a line, while others feel the Egyptian forward has been scapegoated for deeper tactical problems.

Slot has sounded like a beaten man recently but must prove he can keep the dressing room onside, not just the hierarchy.

Goalkeeper Alisson has publicly backed the manager, insisting the squad remains united behind him. But public backing does not always reflect private sentiment.

Liverpool’s Poor Form Is the Real Problem

The Salah drama makes good headlines, but the real anxiety simmering at Liverpool is much simpler: they are not winning football matches.

With just four wins in 15 games, the goodwill generated during Slot’s first season in charge has evaporated.

Liverpool now sit 10th in the Premier League, and their Champions League progression isn’t guaranteed after a heavy loss to PSV.

Defensive issues have continued to spiral, with set-piece fragility, positional lapses, and recurring individual errors, especially from Ibrahima Konate, who currently looks like he’s playing with a low battery icon hovering above his head.

Tactically, Slot has also been questioned for using Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back, struggling to integrate Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, and failing to restore Liverpool’s once-feared intensity.

The Salah situation may be dramatic, but the footballing context around it is the bigger issue right now.

How Much Credit Does Arne Slot Have Left?

Slot began his Liverpool tenure with the Midas touch – every substitution landing, every tweak producing a goal or a win.

But with Liverpool sliding down the table and heading into a defining run of fixtures, the goodwill accumulated last season is thinning rapidly.

Inside the club, the message remains supportive. But football is rarely patient, particularly at elite clubs where expectations remain sky-high.

Slot knows that smoothing things over with Salah will help him, but more than that, he knows he needs to fix things on the pitch – and quickly.