The most interesting aspect of Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over West Ham occurred before kickoff when team sheets revealed Mohamed Salah’s absence from the starting lineup. The main intrigue came from personnel decisions rather than match action, highlighting how poor the football itself proved to be once the game commenced.
The question “what would it take for Mohamed Salah to be left out?” had circulated as Liverpool’s form collapsed. The answer proved to be conceding three or more goals in three successive games for the first time in 75 years. Manager Arne Slot determined that defensive stability required sacrificing his most talented attacker—a decision that dominated pre-match discussion.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s selection on the right wing in Salah’s place represented the tactical shift Slot believed necessary. The Hungarian’s defensive work rate would protect Joe Gomez in a way Salah hadn’t, addressing Liverpool’s most glaring vulnerability. This lineup decision generated more interest than anything that followed once the match began.
The actual football struggled to match the intrigue of team selection. The first half in particular offered minimal entertainment, with the tedium confirming that sometimes the most interesting aspects of matches occur away from actual play. Tactics, selection decisions, and their implications can prove more compelling than poor execution on the pitch.
For Liverpool supporters, the lineup reveal likely generated mixed emotions—relief that defensive issues were being addressed, concern about lacking Salah’s attacking threat, and uncertainty about whether the trade-off would prove worthwhile. The match itself provided some answers, with improved defensive solidity coming at the expense of attacking fluency. Whether this represents a sustainable approach or merely a temporary adjustment remains to be seen, but the team sheet generated more genuine interest than the subsequent 90 minutes of football.