Mo Salah 'didn't have a choice' after Liverpool star's perfect parting message

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Alan Shearer has revealed why he believes Mohamed Salah had no option but to deliver a good performance for Liverpool against Brighton . The Egyptian produced a stellar substitute appearance in the Reds' 2-0 triumph over the Seagulls, despite starting the match on the bench.

Salah found himself amongst the substitutes for the Premier League encounter at Anfield following discussions with manager Arne Slot , after being left out of the matchday squad for the Champions League clash against Inter Milan. The choice to leave Salah out of the squad came after the Liverpool forward gave a controversial interview claiming he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club.

Slot had left Salah on the bench for three consecutive matches, which sparked the furious response from the 33-year-old in the media interview following the stalemate with Leeds United earlier this month. Speaking on the latest Rest is Football podcast with Micah Richards and Gary Lineker , Shearer was asked to give his opinion on the speculation surrounding Salah's Anfield future, with the striker now set to join up with the Egypt squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Newcastle legend was asked whether he felt the drama had been defused after Salah's substitute appearance against Brighton at the weekend. "I don't know, what I do know is that he's going away for four or five weeks, which will, maybe, calm the situation," Shearer said.

"There are so many different ways you could look at it, both positive and negative, but we'd only be guessing. So I don't think we should do that."

Richards backed Shearer's take, with the ex-Manchester City defender sharing his observations about Salah's cameo at Anfield. "I think it's nice that he's going away now," said Richards.

"I think Slot dealt with the whole situation very well. "Even when he could have thrown Salah under the bus, he didn't. Salah's had an outburst, and all top players have egos.

"It was nice that he got on (vs Brighton) and the most important thing [was] he looked sharp when he went on. He should have scored." Shearer then interjected by saying, "I don't think he had a choice, by the way. He had to, didn't he?"

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Lineker pressed Shearer to elaborate on his comment, prompting the former Newcastle striker to respond: "He [Salah] had to come on and do well, after what he said. "And then [being] put back in the squad, he had to run around, and he had to do well. I know he missed a chance."

Liverpool's upcoming fixture sees them face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in the Premier League, marking their first game since Salah joined up with Egypt for AFCON. Salah took to social media on Monday to sign off before leaving for the tournament, posting a graphic showing his incredible scoring record for the Reds.

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