Salah sent Liverpool substitute warning after Galatasaray benching

Robin Bairner

• 1 Oct 2025 06:45 BST
• 5 min read

News

Mohamed Salah has been warned that he may have to become used to being a substitute for Liverpool.

Salah was named on the bench for the Reds’ Champions League clash against Galatasaray on Tuesday in what was a major surprise in Arne Slot’s starting XI.

It was the first time that he had been left on the bench for a European Cup match since he came off the bench to score a hat-trick against Rangers in October 2022.

Current ETV

Mohamed Salah

M, AM (R), F (C)

Liverpool

Mohamed Salah

M, AM (R), F (C)

Liverpool

€45.8M

ETV Range

€41.2M - €50.4M

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Salah, who FootballTransfers understands is preparing to leave Anfield next summer, was unable to have the same impact in Istanbul as the Reds crashed to a shock 1-0 loss thanks to a Victor Osimhen penalty.

After a record summer spend of €470 million, much of it on attacking players Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, the 33-year-old has been told that this is a role he may need to get accustomed to.

“He’s still been scoring goals and still assisting. He’s probably coming back down to a level where everybody else is at. If that’s a drop in form, that’s a worry for everyone else,” Sky Sports News pundit Kris Boyd said.

“But when you look at the talent that Liverpool have got at the top end of the pitch and the money they’ve spent, they can afford to change it.

“Will Mohamed Salah be happy to sit on the bench? No because he never is. He plays the majority of games, every minute of them, because he’s obsessed by scoring goals. He won’t be happy but it might be something he has to deal with going forward.”

Liverpool looking beyond Salah

Even though Liverpool’s summer arrivals have not all hit the ground running, Boyd argues that they need to get the chance to prove themselves ready for when Salah ultimately leaves the club.

“Now Liverpool have got players who can replace him and they can change formation,” he added.

“Wirtz has struggled. We’ve seen him on the left and in the middle. But when you’ve spent the money that Liverpool have spent, you’re going to have to find a way to give them opportunities. They know what Salah can do. Liverpool will go through, so they can afford to leave him out.”

Former England international midfielder Steve Sidwell admitted he was surprised to see Salah on the bench against Galatasaray, though.

“I’m shocked he’s not playing. If you want a reaction from the Crystal Palace game at the weekend – and they could have been four or five down at half-time because they were poor – you get your best players on the pitch,” he said.

“Liverpool have not pulled up any trees this season. Play your best players and get them back into form. At the weekend, they were poor – they weren’t the Liverpool of old. But they deserved to lose.”

Liverpool travel to Chelsea on Saturday in what promises to be a blockbuster Premier League clash – a game that Salah will surely start.

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