Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has thrown his full support behind Mohamed Salah after manager Arne Slot benched the Egyptian forward for the last two matches, a decision that surprisingly yielded four points and briefly eased pressure on the Reds’ inconsistent start to the season.
Slot’s bold call saw Salah left out of the starting XI in consecutive games, a rare sight considering his status as one of Liverpool’s most influential players over the past seven years. The move, however, coincided with an uptick in results, as Liverpool collected four points from a possible six, prompting debate among fans about the team’s balance with and without their long-time talisman.
This season, Liverpool have struggled to find rhythm whenever Salah has started, with their form dipping and attacking cohesion often missing. Slot’s tactical tweaks, including deploying more fluid, interchangeable forward lines in Salah’s absence, have produced encouraging performances, but van Dijk insists that Salah’s importance remains unquestioned.
