Arne Slot’s reaction after Liverpool make it three straight Champions League victories by beating RB Leipzig 1-0 at the Red Bull Arena
Arne Slot says Mohamed Salah’s withdrawal was done with Sunday’s trip to Arsenal in mind as Liverpool beat RB Leipzig 1-0 in the Champions League.
Salah claimed his seventh assist of the season when his header across goal was nudged in by match-winner Darwin Nunez, but the Egypt captain was otherwise quiet as Slot’s side recorded their third successive victory in the revamped European Cup after wins over Italian sides AC Milan and Bologna.
Salah was withdrawn for Luis Diaz on 63 minutes and Slot has confirmed the change was made with a view to the weekend when his Premier League leaders will look to go seven points clear of hosts Arsenal.
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Asked about Salah’s subbing, Slot said: “It is a tough fixture list. Curtis Jones was the same, he hasn’t played 90 minutes yet. We have some injuries now so I have to take care of the players. Sunday is a big game coming up and I need to use as many players as I can for these tough months.
“We should be proud because so many great teams have worn this shirt and so many great managers have been at the club, so to achieve something that hasn’t been done before is almost impossible and always nice. But there is something that is much nicer than records and you know what I mean by that; trophies.
“I don’t think we started the game very well but after the first 15 minutes I liked a lot of what I saw. We played through their press and opened up attacks many times, which led to the first goal and many other chances.
“It is a pity at the end of a game like that when you need big roles from your two centre-backs and goalkeeper. A game like that should have been ours after 60-70 minutes.
“It is good to see all of our players scoring. In the lead up Cody and Mo were just as important as Darwin. But Darwin was strong, comfortable on the ball, fighting if he had to defend, and he made it very difficult for the two centre-backs of Leipzig.
“If you play a big team away they will always have moments. I liked that in this game we had total dominance like in all the other games apart from Chelsea. I was more worried after Chelsea. This was much more how I like to see my team play. We had much more ball possession.”
