Arne Slot hits back at Chelsea star after Mohamed Salah 'targeted' in Liverpool defeat

View 2 Images

Arne Slot jumped to Mohamed Salah's defence after Chelsea's Marc Cucurella revealed the Blues deliberately targeted the Liverpool star before netting their decisive goal earlier this month.

The left-back pushed forward into space down Liverpool's right flank and delivered the cross for Willian Estevao to bag a stoppage-time winner at Stamford Bridge, with the west Londoners' frenzied celebrations resulting in boss Enzo Maresca receiving his marching orders.

Cucurella subsequently confessed that Maresca had instructed his squad to exploit the space vacated by Salah late in the contest, suggesting that the balance of the Egyptian operating alongside more attack-minded midfielders like Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai meant the Reds would be exposed defensively.

"We know that Salah is always ready for the counter-attack," Cucurella told Sky Sports after the match. "So we practiced that, and the manager said that the space might be there (on Liverpool's right side).

"We saw that it was the last minute but we kept attacking. I tried to give my last effort and Enzo (Fernandez) gave me the ball, and I crossed for Estevao.", reports the Liverpool Echo .

Speaking ahead of his team's encounter with Manchester United on Sunday, Slot backed Wirtz, Szoboszlai and especially Salah, arguing that the result would have been different had the Egyptian converted the opportunities he fashioned by advancing forward.

"I think they're (Wirtz and Szoboszlai) both attacking midfielders and both are expected to defend, like all our 11 players are expected to defend," Slot stated.

View 2 Images

"In this particular case I heard the comments of Cucurella, and also saw how they scored the [goal to make it] 2-1, but I could have also showed you five or six moments where Mo could have made the difference for us.

"And if that would have happened then we would have had a conversation like last season, where he so many times made the difference for us.

"But if that doesn't happen then you get comments like this. It's always the balance between winger and full-backs.

"I want our full-backs to attack as well, so we have to find the right balance in that, but we are conceding too many crosses compared to last season, and this is something I'm aware of and we have to do better."

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.