Arne Slot will have been relieved to see his Liverpool side pick up a much-needed win in their Champions League visit to Inter Milan on Tuesday night.
Having taken just one win from their previous six games, Liverpool’s win at the San Siro keeps them in the mix to finish in the top eight and avoid the knockout playoffs.
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They needed a hugely contentious late penalty to take the three points, taken and converted by Dominik Szoboszlai in Mo Salah’s absence.
Liverpool’s attacking talisman for eight years now, Salah was excluded from the travelling squad after his explosive comments against manager Slot and the club’s hierarchy after spending 90 minutes as an unused sub at Leeds on Saturday.
Slot admitted pre-match in Milan that he was unsure whether Salah will ever play for Liverpool again, and it’s clear the relationship between the pair is hugely fractured.
After the game, Slot stood his ground – but received strong push back from his compatriot Clarence Seedorf, who was on punditry duty for Prime Video.
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Seedorf questions Slot’s management of Mo Salah situation
Arne Slot spoke to Prime Video pitchside after Liverpool’s late 1-0 victory over Inter at the San Siro on Tuesday.
Host Gabby Logan initially led the interview, but pundit Clarence Seedorf would jump in once the topic of conversation turned to Mo Salah.
Slot initially refused to be drawn on the topic of Salah, before Seedorf pushed him on whether the 33-year-old would be brought back into the playing squad.
The Liverpool manager appeared to suggest that the first move towards reconciliation must come from the player, something Seedorf disagreed with in a fascinating exchange.
The full dialogue between the pair is transcribed below:
Slot: “I think tonight it should be all about what we’ve done here, in a stadium like this against Inter, winning. All the focus should be on that tonight. I can fully understand if I go Friday again into the press conference, that all questions will be about Mo. But I think these players deserve now that we speak about them.
Seedorf:Â “I don’t exactly agree on that, because…we obviously have great respect for you and for Mo Salah and everything, we don’t want to be polemic. But it’s also to understand, because there’s a lot of assumptions made by us as well. Do you have the intention to bring him back? It’s our view, I would love to see that happen, because everybody makes mistakes in life. Things happen and you always have the spirit…”
Slot:Â “OK, you say everyone makes mistakes in life – so the first thing should be does the player think he’s made a mistake as well?”
Seedorf:Â “How are you going to know if you don’t talk with him?”
Slot: “I haven’t said that I’m not going to talk to him, I just said the focus should be on the players. The next question is, should the initiative come from me or him? That’s another question to answer. But, as I said, the focus for tonight should be [on these players].”
Seedorf:Â “I believe that the team, the club, and the coach, when a player is hurt for whatever reason – right, wrong, whatever – should make the first step and open the door for him to then see what is happening. This was my comment.”
Slot:Â “OK, that’s your opinion.”
Clarence Seedorf has received much praise from football fans online for his no-nonsense response to Arne Slot’s take on the situation.
The clip has also gained much traction due to the insight it has given us into how Slot intends to approach defusing the fallout with Mo Salah.
Judging by his comments in Milan, Slot has no intention of leading any peace-making process, with the onus seemingly firmly on Salah to apologise for his post-match remarks at Elland Road.
A messy situation does not appear likely to be resolved in a satisfactory manner before Salah leaves for AFCON next week.
If Arne Slot wants to avoid further questions on this matter, he may be well placed to take some initiative in resolving the rift.
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