Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Tuesday’s Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield (kick-off 20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
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Centre-back Ibrahima Konate has “completely recovered” and is available to play, after going off injured against Brighton on Saturday.
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Forward Mohamed Salah, who is approaching the end of his contract, wrote a post on social media after he scored against the Seagulls which ended: “No matter what happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like.” Slot said: “Mo is in a very good place at the moment. As long as he’s been at Liverpool he’s been in a good place, but this season as well.”
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He continued: “I’m hoping he will post after tomorrow and on Saturday again. The only thing that is important for me is how he plays and what he tells me when we have conversations. That’s what matters and not how you guys [reporters] interpret one of his posts.”
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Asked how long he feels Salah can continue performing at his current level, the Reds boss said: “There’s no reason at the moment to think he is dropping in terms of his level. I can’t tell you what the future will look like. What age is Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment? He’s still doing well. Lionel Messi is still incredible.” He added with a smile: “But there are also players, like me, who weren’t as good when they were 33 than when they were 26. I regressed a bit earlier than Ronaldo and Messi.”
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Slot described Tuesday’s game as a “big European tie, which is almost always the situation if you play in the Champions League”.
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The Dutchman said one of the main reasons for the magnitude of this game is “because of what Xabi Alonso did for Liverpool, especially in Europe, but maybe more because of how he manages Leverkusen and how strong they are”.
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Slot added: “Last season they were incredible. This season they are still the same and just as good, but a bit more unlucky when it comes to results.”
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On what he thinks makes ex-Reds midfielder Alonso “special” as a manager: “If you go to a club bottom of the league and with the same players you bring them all the way up – and, without spending that much money in that summer, have a season where they only lost the final of the Europa League – it tells you that he’s special. What it is that makes him special is difficult for me to say because I haven’t faced him yet and I haven’t worked with him. But he’s worked with very good managers in the past and he played at the highest levels, so that all contributes to why he is such a good manager.”
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