'Mo Salah will have the same problem with five Liverpool team-mates after he was snubbed'

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Former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders believes Mohamed Salah will be angry at being left out by Arne Slot after witnessing five underperforming team-mates start ahead of him. The Egyptian star was dropped to the bench for the Reds' 2-0 Premier League win over West Ham on Sunday in a bold move by the club's head coach.

Florian Wirtz started in a front three with Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak at the London Stadium instead. Salah has been a regular fixture in Slot's starting XI this season, but has not been at his clinical best as Liverpool's title defence has been rocked by a series of shock defeats.

However, the 33-year-old forward hasn't been the only Reds player struggling and Saunders reckons he will feel hard done by over being benched. The ex- Wrexham and Wolves manager suggested Salah will have watched five his colleagues in particular at West Ham and questioned why they weren't axed before him.

Speaking to BoyleSports, Saunders said: "I wonder what's going through Mohamed Salah's head. Cody Gakpo was on the pitch, Florian Wirtz was on the pitch, [he's thinking] 'They've not been better than me. Hugo Ekitike has not been bad, started off good, but Alexander Isak has not been better than me.'

" Curtis Jones is playing, Salah must have been thinking, 'How am I not on that pitch?' Is it going to give him a kick up the backside? We'll wait and see. But every other player needs Salah in the team. He's just world-class, but Salah needs to get on their wavelength as well and adjust, so it will take a bit of time."

He added: "I think we need to wait and see how Salah reacts. But you can look at the team, when's the last time you've seen him one-on-one with a keeper?

"That used to be every week. Virgil van Dijk isn't hitting diagonal balls, which he's famous for. I don't think he hit one in the first half. So it's not all down to Salah."

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Slot admitted in mid-week that it was a "fair assumption" to suggest Salah was unhappy at being left out . He praised the star's behaviour, though, noting that he'd been "very supportive" of his team-mates.

However, Saunders believes the Dutchman has piled unnecessary pressure on himself by making such a significant decision. He also said the high turnover of players at Anfield during the summer will have added to Salah's recent dip in form.

Saunders said: "The pressure is on the manager, especially after leaving out Mohamed Salah. Three months ago, Salah was the world's best, and he hasn't become bad in that time, though his output is below his usual standard.

"Salah greatly benefited from Trent Alexander-Arnold 's passing and the crosses from Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo. The midfield also used to cover him, unselfish players like Jordan Henderson and James Milner would immediately press when Salah lost the ball.

"Now, players like Ryan Gravenberch are pushing up too much. The decision to drop Salah for the West Ham game was huge. Despite all the issues, Liverpool are only four points behind Manchester City . A couple of wins, starting with Sunderland , should see them back in the top four or five."

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