The Liverpool coach on the eve of the match against the Nerazzurri: “We haven’t explained ourselves yet. Only he knows who he was referring to, I can only guess… I’m a calm and polite coach, but what he said doesn’t make me happy”
Long tense minutes pass before a simple five-letter word that should be at home here finally appears in the belly of San Siro: Inter. Liverpool manager Arne Slot knows that the Champions League match against the Nerazzurri matters much less than the Egyptian-made bomb dropped after the 3-3 draw with Leeds. For this reason, the Dutch coach, who already has ten defeats of the season on his back and seems to have lost all the certainties of the triumphant last season, had to defend himself from a varied bombardment of questions about Mohamed Salah: “We communicated to Mo that, following his outburst, he would not fly with us to Milan: this was our only communication and his reaction was rather… short – said Slot -. Before Saturday we had talked a lot and I don’t know why he felt betrayed by the team, we don’t we are still explained about this: only he knows who he was referring to, I can only guess… I am a calm and polite coach, but it doesn’t mean that I am weak. He has the right to feel these feelings, but not to spread them to the media. And for our part, we have the right to respond…”. Getting out of this situation will be more complex than taming a very fast Inter, but Slot himself has already tried now, as much as possible: “I don’t think that the relationship between us has deteriorated and I believe that there may be a way to go back. In the last few games he hasn’t played only because I thought of using an extra midfielder and the results have been seen. He has always trained hard and with respect with me, which is why I was surprised to read his statements. It’s not the first time something has happened of this type in football, but my reaction was clear: don’t call him up. I don’t feel that my authority has been undermined, in the end it’s a very tough situation for the whole club: nobody wanted to find themselves in this situation which has certainly impacted the team and I’m only focused on that.” The next step will be to understand if there will be a future in the Reds for the Egyptian phenomenon: “We are on the eve of a great match, after that we will see what will happen. I don’t know if the one against Leeds was Salah’s last match with Liverpool, I don’t have the faintest idea”, concluded Slot.
Alisson speaks
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After his coach, the Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker had the courage to sit on the same chair as Slot and speak in English and Italian about the case of the moment, presenting the point of view of the locker room: “Of course he can have an impact on us, it’s Mo Salah… – the Brazilian relaunched -. It’s not an easy situation, we all have a personal relationship with him, for example I always played together with Mo, both at Liverpool and at Roma. He’s a good boy, he’s a legend, but that which he said doesn’t make me happy. I haven’t yet spoken to him as I would like because for me he is not just a teammate, but a true friend. When we discuss, the content of the conversation will remain between the two of us. I hope he can return to represent Liverpool on the pitch: we want the best for him, but above all the best for the club.
towards the interior
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Having closed the Salah chapter, the rest of the Liverpool manager’s words finally focused on Inter and his colleague Chivu: “We are playing against a very strong team, one of the great European teams, experienced and with many qualities – added Slot -. I see more similarities than differences compared to the past: same formation, same type of team, but their way of pressing high has changed. If I think of Cristian Chivu I think of Ajax and his being a great defender with and without the ball: I also faced him in the Eredivisie. His very aggressive style as a footballer can also be seen on the pitch as a manager, in the way he builds from the back.” He then said his last words about Federico Chiesa, who was not called up for a match he would have liked to play: “He is ill, we are monitoring his situation. In general, I am happy that he is more comfortable this year than last year and has more playing time. However, it is up to the coach of the Italian national team alone to decide whether to call him up or not…”.
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