Published: 11:58, 23 February 2026 | Updated: 11:58, 23 February 2026

Asked after Mo Salah ended a pretty dismal performance by scoring a late winning penalty at Burnley last autumn whether he would ever consider taking his star player off, Liverpool manager Arne Slot did his best not to answer the question. And then admitted that it was desperately hard to do so.

'He may always give you something like he did today,' said Slot.

Well here we are, several months and one big argument later, and things have changed. Amid all the talk about Liverpool's two late goals at Nottingham Forest – only one of them stood – what was lost by many was that it was Slot's decision to remove Salah with 13 minutes left that helped to win his team the game.

It's not fashionable among sections of the Liverpool fanbase – certainly not the social media faction – to give Slot any praise whatsoever and for sure his team were a dreadful watch in the first half at the City Ground. Their XG at that point was an embarrassing 0.06.