- Salah was benched for second leg vs PSG
- Did not play a single minute in first leg
- Came on in the first half and shined
Liverpool icon Robbie Fowler has questioned Arne Slot’s decision to bench Mohamed Salah, a gamble that backfired spectacularly as the Reds were dumped out of the Champions League quarterfinals by Paris St Germain.
Robbie Fowler was among the pundits on Amazon Prime and spoke before the lineups were announced. He claimed that the manager should not be making changes to the lineup that defeated Fulham in the Premier League.
He claimed that Slot should stick with Salah and Rio Ngumoha on the wings and said:
“Tonight whether Salah starts, we don’t know. Whether Rio start on the other side, we don’t know. But I think Liverpool needs to sort of go into this game and not change a predictable side.”
However, it was disappointing news for Fowler and the fans as the 33-year-old was named among the substitutes. The teenager was also benched, with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike starting up front for the Reds.
Salah proves his worth in his final European outing for Anfield
Salah did not have to wait long after being named on the bench on Tuesday evening the Egyptian came on for Hugo Ekitike in the 30th minute after the Frenchman was forced off with an injury.
Soon after coming on, the 33-year-old created the best chance for the Reds on the site, putting in a stunning cross for Milos Kerkez. The left-back got on the end of it, but Matvéi Safónov was on top of his game, and the PSG keeper stopped his shot.
The Reds legend played just 59 minutes in the game, but finished with the most expected assists according to FotMob – 0.52, along with Bradley Barcola. He also created four chances in the game, as many as Florian Wirtz, and had the most touches inside the opponents’ box at 14.
There is a good argument that if Salah had started instead of Ekitike, the Reds could have gotten an early goal, and the Frenchman’s injury could also have been avoided.
Arne Slot explained his Liverpool XI decision
Arne Slot spoke to Amazon Prime ahead of kick off, saying that his decision was to start with players who can get them goals in the first half. He wanted to close the 2-0 gap as soon as possible and not leave things late, and said:
“If you include [Florian] Wirtz to that, it is only 88 minutes they play together. The thinking is that, as we all know, we need to score goals, and there are goals in these players. They are two target men, two players we can play into.”
Slot suggested that Isak would be coming off at half time, as the striker has just returned from injury. He said that the decision to start him was to avoid making another change for extra time and said:
“They can score goals, as I just said, and as you might not know, Alex will not be able to play much more than 45 minutes. If you have to bring him with the possibility of extra-time, then it makes sense for me to start.”
Isak did end up coming off at half time for Cody Gakpo, and the Reds had to play the second half with the front line of Rio Ngumoha, Gakpo and Salah from the hour mark.
It was a bittersweet European farewell for Salah. Despite being handed only an hour to save Liverpool’s continental campaign, his performance leading the team in expected assists and touches in the box was a glaring reminder of his enduring class and departing with a large amount of Champions League goals a club record that may not be broken for decades.
Robbie Fowler’s pre-match assessment proved devastatingly accurate: benching a man who has delivered 53 European goals for the Reds was a tactical risk that Arne Slot simply couldn’t justify.
Robbie Fowler’s pre-match warnings proved prophetic as Liverpool looked a shadow of the side that dominated Fulham, lacking the rhythm that only Salah provides.
As the Reds turn their focus back to securing Champions League football for the 2026/27 campaign the 4-0 aggregate defeat to PSG serves as a harsh lesson for Arne Slot on the dangers of over-thinking selection in the games that matter most.
