LIVERPOOL, England, Dec 04 (Agencies): Mohamed Salah was left out of Liverpool's starting lineup by manager Arne Slot on Wednesday for the second straight Premier League match, in what could be a sign of the Egypt winger's fading status in his ninth season at the club.
Salah was named on the bench for the home game against Sunderland, only entering as a halftime substitute - and failing to score - in a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
On Sunday, the Egypt winger was an unused substitute in Liverpool's 2-0 win at West Ham. That marked the first time Salah hadn't started a league game under Slot, who took charge in the offseason of 2024 and won the title in his first season - chiefly thanks to Salah's league-high 29 goals.
Slot acknowledged Salah was unhappy at being dropped last weekend but that he "handled himself really well" and was a "top professional."
That wasn't enough to regain his place in the team three days later, with Slot sticking with Dominic Szoboszlai on the right wing - seemingly because of his work off the ball.
"In the first half, we played Szoboszlai on the right to be defensively strong enough not to concede as much as we did in the last few weeks," Slot said.
Liverpool has three matches - two in the Premier League and one in the Champions League - before Salah heads to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.
Slot refused to say whether Salah would come into the team for Liverpool's next match - at Leeds on Saturday.
"I have not given a thought to how we will play at the weekend against Leeds," he said. "I have an idea who will start but I won't say."
Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk says Salah's omission from Liverpool's team for a second successive match shows no player at the club has "unlimited credit".
The Egypt international was an unused substitute for Sunday's win at West Ham and was on the bench for the 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland on Wednesday.
It was the first time in his Anfield career that he had not started in back-to-back league matches.
The forward was brought on for the second half against Sunderland but struggled to make an impact and is now goalless in five matches.
Salah has scored just four Premier League goals for the struggling defending champions this season, in stark contrast to his haul of 29 last season.
