Arne Slot explained why Mohamed Salah was left unused in Liverpool’s defeat to PSG, saying it was “more about surviving.”
For the second time in four games, Salah was named on the bench but not brought on – his first unused appearance since the trip to Leeds.
Instead, Slot introduced Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Andy Robertson and Trey Nyoni from the 78th minute.
Asked about the decision, Slot said it was “better for him to save his energy,” with Liverpool largely focused on seeing out the game.
Slot said: “I think in the last part of the game, it was more about surviving for us than there was ever a chance that we could score.
“Yeah, you never know, because last season we scored five minutes before the end, Harvey Elliott [scored] when I took Mo off.
“But I think this was a 20, 25 minutes where we were only defending and Mo has so much quality, but for Mo to be 20, 25 minutes defending inside his own box, I think it’s better for him to save his energy for a lot of games that are coming up in the upcoming weeks.”
The Dutchman added: “Of course that’s not the plan and of course you think you can do better and when you press them you can force them to mistakes.
“But I think the way you describe it is the perfect way to describe it. We were in survival mode for large parts of the game but maybe also in the period of the season we are in, we are in survival mode.
“So to try to find ways where we can try to make sure that their qualities are not seen that much, but that’s really, really, really hard against this team, because last season we were in survival mode as well.
“But as I said, Paris Saint-Germain was the better team, but we didn’t give up and that’s why we have a chance now still in this tie, because they kept us alive by not scoring a few open chances.
“And now, we can bring the tie back to Anfield, but in between there is still a very important game to play for us against Fulham.”
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