'Bite your lip!' Liverpool legend blasts Mohamed Salah and reminds Egyptian 'this is a team game' after explosive Arne Slot criticism

Hugo Ekitike scored a quickfire second-half double at Leeds on Saturday as the Reds looked to claim just their eighth league win of the campaign. However, Leeds were level for the final 15 minutes courtesy of goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach.

Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool's advantage with 10 minutes to play, only for Ao Tanaka to bag a late equaliser to ensure the shares were spoiled in a six-goal thriller in Yorkshire. And as the Reds pushed to secure victory, Slot opted to call upon the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak rather than Salah, who after the draw claimed he'd been "thrown under the bus" as he watched the action unfold at Elland Road.

"I can’t believe it, I’m very, very disappointed. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season," Salah said after the entertaining stalemate. "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 is 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 on the bench for three games, so I can’t say they keep the promise. 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.

"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 [my parents], ‘Come to the Brighton game.’ 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. I will be at Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go the Africa Cup. I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there."

Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!

Michael Owen, though, has blasted Salah for his comments and believes the Reds star should have kept quiet until after the Africa Cup of Nations. "Oh @mosalah I can imagine how you feel," the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United striker posted on his official X account.

"You’ve carried this team for a long time and won everything there is to win. But this is a team game and you simply can’t publicly say what you’ve said. You’re going to afcon in a week.

"Surely you bite your lip, enjoy representing your country and see how the land lies when you get back?"

Salah will be available for Liverpool's upcoming meetings with Inter and Brighton before he joins up with the Egypt squad for AFCON later this month.

The Africa Cup of Nations takes place in Morocco this year and the tournament starts on Sunday 21 December and runs until Sunday 18 January. Salah isn't the only Premier League player who'll link up with Egypt this month, with Manchester City's Omar Marmoush set to join the Reds star with the Pharaohs.

Salah could miss up to six games for Liverpool should Egypt, who are one of the pre-tournament favourites, go the distance in Morocco. After next week's game against Brighton, Liverpool face Tottenham, Wolves, Leeds, Fulham and Arsenal, as well as their FA Cup third round clash, before the welcome of Burnley, which could be Salah's first game back.