Salah voices frustration over consecutive bench appearances amid Liverpool’s struggles
Mohamed Salah has expressed his frustration after being left on the bench in consecutive English Premier League (EPL) matches following Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United.
Speaking with journalists after Saturday’s match, the forward said his bench role suggests he is being blamed for the defending champions’ disappointing season.
Liverpool have underperformed, failing to win eight of their 15 league matches and securing full points only twice in their last 10 outings—far from the dominant form they showed last season.
Salah featured in all league games during the poor run until recently. However, he has been benched for the last three fixtures and did not play in two of them. The 33-year-old said the situation is surprising, considering he has scored 188 league goals since joining the club in 2017.
The forward believes he is being scapegoated for the team’s struggles and suggested that his benching contradicts assurances he received when he signed a two-year contract extension during the summer.
“[I can’t believe] that I’m sitting on the bench for 90 minutes! The third time on the bench, I think for the first time in my career,” he said.
“I’m very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season. Now I’m sitting on the bench and I don’t know why.
“It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.
“I got a lot of promises in the summer and so far I am in the bench for three games so I can’t say they keep the promise.”
Salah also said he no longer feels he has “any relationship” with the manager due to his reduced playing time and believes he is being pushed toward an exit.
“I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden, we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why, but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club,” he said.
“This club, I always support it. My kids will always support it. I love the club so much. I will always do. I called my mum yesterday – you guys didn’t know if I would start or not, but I knew.
“Yesterday I said to them, come to the Brighton game [on 13 December]. I don’t know if I am going to play or not, but I am going to enjoy it.
“In my head, I’m going to enjoy that game because I don’t know what is going to happen now.”
Ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, the Egyptian captain added that he plans to be at Anfield to “say goodbye to the fans” before heading off for national duty, noting that he is uncertain about what the future holds.