Salah burned his own bridges

Mohamed Salah said he was “thrown under the bus” after the 3-3 draw with Leeds in round 15 of the Premier League in the early morning of December 7.

The complaint not only reflects personal frustration, but also puts Liverpool in a media crisis at a time when the team needs stability the most.

Salah bursts with emotion

Mohamed Salah is no stranger to pressure. In his seven years at Anfield, he has grown accustomed to living with expectations, to being scrutinized, to carrying Liverpool’s attack. But on that bleak evening at Elland Road, with his team dropping two points and him being left out of the game for the third time in a row, Salah chose to express his emotions in the most consequential way: publicly criticizing the team and manager Arne Slot.

“I feel like I’ve been thrown under the bus,” Salah said. A short sentence, but enough to cause a huge shockwave in the context of Liverpool’s decline. Because these are not just the words of a player sitting on the bench. These are the words of a man who was once an icon, once the number one striker, once considered irreplaceable.

As Danny Murphy explains on Match of the Day, Salah’s feelings are understandable. He’s been out for three games, his team’s form has been poor, and he’s signed a new contract less than half a year in. A big star wouldn’t be content with a prolonged role as a substitute. But Murphy also points out: the way he’s been performing is all wrong.

Salah could leave Liverpool.

In top-level football, there are plenty of clashes between big players and managers. But most are handled behind closed doors. “Keep it within the four walls of the club,” Murphy advises.

That means knocking on the coach's door, meeting with club officials, arguing, debating, even banging on the table if necessary. But absolutely do not turn a personal issue into a media battle.

Salah did the opposite. As a result, Slot was left in a difficult position, the dressing room was divided by suspicion and the media had more reason to focus on Liverpool’s crisis. A team that had just dropped points four times in its last five Premier League games did not need any more fire.

Tensions are rising as CAN approaches. Salah will leave Liverpool on December 15 and may not return until January 18 if Egypt progress. This means that for nearly a crucial month, Slot will have to manage without their biggest star.

Now, the problem is no longer a sporting gap, but a psychological gap. After that statement, how will Salah return? How will his teammates welcome him? How will Slot handle it?

The current transfer market environment makes things more sensitive. Saudi Arabia is still closely following Salah. Liverpool are said to be “open” to all scenarios, but they still retain the initiative thanks to the two-year contract they just signed.

The question is: does Salah want to stay? And if he does want to leave, is January the right time?

Salah is losing himself.

What hope for Salah?

Danny Murphy believes things can still calm down. He said Salah will “calm down” and believes the Egyptian star will still play for Liverpool.

It is a reasonable hope. A player who scored over 200 goals for the club, and was once a shining icon on the right touchline, surely deserves a decent final chapter at Anfield, rather than a thorny farewell.

But football history shows that there are no guarantees. When emotions run high and faith wavers, beautiful farewells sometimes end with unexpected twists. And for Salah, for the first time in years, that feeling was palpable.

If there is anything Liverpool need right now, it is calm and unity. The team is slipping away from the top eight, the defense is fragile, the attack is unstable and Slot has not found the optimal formula. A dressing room with many cracks will only make things worse. Salah knows that. Slot knows that. Liverpool fans know that even more.

Salah still has time to make amends. A discreet explanation, an internal meeting, or simply silence and timely action could put things back on track. But if he chooses to continue pushing things further, his future at Anfield could take an unexpected turn.

Liverpool have overcome bigger upheavals than this. But Salah's emotional outburst, if not handled properly, could very well be the turning point that ends his relationship with Liverpool in a way no one expected.

Source: https://znews.vn/salah-tu-dot-cau-noi-post1609163.html