Salah speaks out: Where does it leave negotiations & can Liverpool keep him?
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Alright, Reds, Tony Evans here with Walk On, your Liverpool podcast from The Athletic. I'm here with James Pearce and Simon Hughes. Salah speaks, and a big week awaits as Liverpool are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League. There's a fair amount to talk about this week, I think. But we'll start with those three words. James, what are your three? My three are get it sorted. Get it sorted. And Simon...

Well, one, have you got any ready this week? And is it actually three words or is it more? I've reduced it to three this week. So it's a special occasion. Don't go, Mo. You've done the business, Simon, this week. Brilliant, brilliant. I think it's James that's done the business, Tony, after his sterling interview work over the weekend, to be fair. Yeah, well, let's talk about that. Let's talk about that.

But let's find out first what you're saying. Martin Glendrange. Dare we dream? Oliver James. Mo can't leave. Davey Lloyd. There is fire. I like that. Liz Reid. Pay the man. To join our community of listeners on Facebook, just search Walk On Podcast and join the group. Now, not only a probably most portentous voice for Contract Weekly, but we'll go into it. Contract Weekly, James.

Do you have any updates? Anything that we might not have heard about? HE CHUCKLES

Well, I don't know if it's come to light yet, but a fella called Mo Salah did stop for a brief chat after Sunday's game. Well, it's almost December. I haven't received any offer to stay yet in the club, so probably I'm more out than in. No club like this, but in the end, it's not in my hands. So, as I said before, it's December, so I haven't received anything yet about my briefs. It feels like the fans would love you to stay, Logan. What's your reaction today? Hi.

I love the fans, the fans love me, but it's not in my hands or the fans' hands. Let's go and see. How do you feel about the fact there hasn't been an offer then? Does that disappoint you? Of course, yeah.

And so what, have you spoken to the club about why there hasn't been an offer? Well, I'm not going to go and say, I'm not going to retire soon. So I'm just playing the, I'm focused on the season. And yeah, I'm trying to win the Premier League, hopefully the Champions League as well. But yeah, it's a disappointment, but we'll see. And you know, the last couple of years, there's been a lot of talk about Saudi Arabia and you potentially moving over there. But you don't, you don't look like someone... I don't want to think about that. I don't want to think about that. I'm focused with the team now and...

Do you feel as if, because obviously you'll be 33 next year, but do you feel as if you can go on at the highest level, like Messi and Ronaldo, into your late 30s? As you see, I'm very professional. Everybody sees my work. I just try to enjoy my football. I will play at the top level as long as possible. Is that your fan club in the background there, James? I sense a bit of Pierce mania with all this reading. Because they went quiet when you spoke. LAUGHTER

respectful I thought yeah I think that most of them were there for Mo if I'm being brutally honest about it but

But yeah, it was a slightly surreal few minutes because just to set the scene, the Mick zone at St Mary's Stadium is hardly the most hospitable in the Premier League. You actually have to go outside the stadium and wait behind a metal barrier right next to the Liverpool team coach, where the away coach is ready to sweep them away to Southampton Airport. So we're kind of waiting outside there, four of us, in the cold and the rain and the winds blowing.

howling and you think to yourself, not much chance of getting anyone to stop here. And there was probably about three or four steps between coming out the door and boarding the coach. So you had a very small window to try and attract someone's attention. And unsurprisingly, given the elements, most players were just heading straight on. Salah stopped. And Salah never stops, does he? No, no, that's, yeah, that's the other thing. I think he'd stopped twice previously before.

in seven and a half years in coming through mixed zones. Luckily, I've been used to rejection in my life. Otherwise, I would have taken it personally over the years because he must have said no in excess of 300 times.

But yeah, I asked him, said, Mo, any chance of a couple of minutes? And he just came on straight over. And it was like, aye, aye, this is not normal. Bearing in mind the other two occasions. One was when he kept a promise to stop once he got to 40 goals in his debut season at the club. The other time was after the Champions League final in Madrid in 2019. And yeah, it soon became apparent he had a few things he wanted to get off his chest. Yeah, so, I mean, it's remarkable really, isn't it? You know, if...

Those of us who've been in mixed zones and you know what to expect, we're flabbergasted really that he stopped. I mean, mixed zones can be quite demoralising experiences, can't they, James? Even in victory, the players tend not to want to speak. Not all the players, in fairness. There are certain players that do stop regularly, aren't there? I mean, I'm not in the mixed zone category,

It's not part of my job, but players like Virgil van Dijk would take his responsibility seriously. It sounds like since he's become captain, you know, he's continued with that, you know, always front, more than often than not, will front up, win, lose or draw. Trent as well, pretty good, but the rest of them, Trent,

Try as many excuses as possible to get out of it. Strangely though, Salah does always walk, does tend to walk past, doesn't he? It's almost like he quite enjoys saying no sometimes. That was my experience in the early years, certainly between 2017 and 2020. But as James said, I was there in 2018 when he passed the 40 goal mark. He spoke for just north of three minutes. Bearing in mind, you know, what he'd achieved then was astonishing and everybody was wanting to hear from him.

The interesting thing is when he does speak, he actually does give a little bit away about himself occasionally. So there's always a reason for it. So I remember on that occasion, he was asked about the golden boot and it was quite clear in his response that it did matter to him. You know, most players are like, oh no, you know, it's a team over the individual sort of thing, where Salah was very sort of clear that he wanted to win that golden boot that year.

So whenever he does speak, there is sort of a purpose for it. He does like to, I've said this previously this week, but Mohamed Salah is very cryptic until he's not. And then he becomes very blunt. And this was one of those occasions where obviously having listened to the interview that James did and watched the video and then read it back, it's quite startling to hear a player of his reputation and fame

just being as honest as he is about his current position at the club. There'll be all sorts of opinions about whether he's right or not, but from a journalist perspective, I can only commend James because all that we want to know about is the truth.

And, well, obviously his conversation there has shone a new light on where the conversation between him and Liverpool are at at the moment. Yeah, James, that's an interesting point Simon's just made. All we want is the truth and that's exactly what we're after. Now, one of the problems in football, we've all been around football a long time, is

is there are various truths from various perspectives. One, how much veracity is there in what Salah said from the point of view of have there been negotiations, low-key negotiations, that might not have reached them? And two, where does it leave us? Yeah, I think it's a good point, and certainly...

It's a lot more complex than when people see the quote, the standout quote, I have not had an offer and we're nearly in December. The instant reaction is what on earth, you know, are Liverpool playing at? Yet, what constitutes...

an official formal offer. Now, I think it's absolutely unthinkable that in the discussions that have taken place between Richard Hughes and Salah's representative, that figures haven't been bandied around. I mean, it's just impossible, isn't it? How could you possibly have discussions about a potential new contract without that forming part of the conversation?

But if that's a verbal exchange that hasn't yet led to an official offer, then we have to take salary at his word. And to be fair, Liverpool...

they wouldn't either confirm or deny that was the case, that there hasn't been an official offer. I think the last thing they want is making this any more adversarial at this stage. But I think people will find it startling that there hasn't been an offer, if that is the case. And of course, part of the problem with this is we do not know exactly what Salah wants and how far Liverpool are prepared to go. And in a way, if there's a big gap between those two things...

then it's probably not a massive surprise that there hasn't been a formal offer up to this point.

It's always struck me that Salah has a great sense of his own status. He knows how good he is. He knows his worth. Simon, you've just written a brilliant book about him. Jason Salah, kiddies, get up for Christmas. It's well worth it. But are Liverpool, do you think, prepared to match what Salah wants? And secondly, if not, how do they replace him? Well, it depends what you're talking about.

what that figure is. Now, if he's measuring his worth against what he may or may not earn in Saudi Arabia, I suspect that Liverpool won't be able to match it. But if he's measuring it against where he's at in Liverpool, where his contract's at now, then maybe they can. I get the sense, Si, that he's nowhere near ready to go to Saudi Arabia. I don't think he is. Certainly, writing the book, I didn't get the feeling that it's amongst his priorities and

he realises that he thinks that he can play for much longer and given Saudi Arabia's interest in football isn't going to go away, there's plenty of time for him to go there and earn a lot of money. But the question is, if he is using what he might potentially be able to earn there as a measure of what he should be earning at Liverpool,

I just don't think Liverpool are going to go there. Now, that is again speculative. I'm not saying that he is doing that. But let's just say, for example, there are players who've gone to Saudi Arabia. Some of the earnings are close to north of £700,000 a week. Liverpool aren't going to offer that. That's just the reality. But if he's expecting some sort of pay rise based on what he's earning at the moment, incentivised,

And it's a case of Liverpool thinking, well, you're 32, you're actually going to earn less now than your previous contract. Then, although there will be distance to go, there's more of a possibility of that happening. But if it's such a gap where Liverpool are at one end saying, we actually think you're not worth as much as you were in the last contract. Meanwhile, he's saying, well, Saudi Arabia are offering me this.

I find it hard to see how there would be a compromise. It depends what the barometers are. In terms of replacing him, I mean, say, again, this is all hypothetical. So let's say he is on between 350 and 400 standards, £400,000 a week standards at this moment in time. If Liverpool were to give him a contract £400,000 a week, that's

That would be worth just north of £20 million a season, which over the course of two or three seasons is worth £40 or £60 million. So if Liverpool are going to replace him, they're going to have to be very clever in the transfer market if they're going to get value better than that. That's before you even start talking about wages. You know, that's not even considering, you know, players...

who are in the markets, there were no players who were cheaper than that sort of high-end figure of 60 million who have got anywhere near the numbers Salah has got over the last couple of years. Now, players may or may not be able to do that at Liverpool based on the increased quality of the players, the environment that exists there. But there is a risk, isn't there? There's obviously a risk either side, whichever decision they make.

So if you're asking me who could replace Mohamed Salah, I don't know because no one's done that, those numbers that he does. If you're judging them on numbers alone, it's fair to say I was a bit of a data skeptic 10 years ago, but I can understand, you know, the raw data, you know, in the sense that, well, he scored 20 goals this season. It's hard to do that. Look,

That's not data. That's the scoreboard. That's scores. Exactly, exactly, Tony. Where does the data begin and just the facts? You know what? The data people say, don't trust your eyes, trust the numbers. The only numbers I trust around that scoreboard, goals, people who put us into the net. James, where does this leave Virgil and Trent? Before I come on to that, I just wanted to, off the back of what Simon said,

was saying the other thing that struck me about those few minutes in Salah's company on Sunday night was what I asked him about the ongoing links with Saudi and

And he very, very quickly shut down that conversation. I personally think he's got two moves in him. I think he's got to move to a big European club and then later on a decision to make whether he wants to go to the States or Saudi. I think he's got loads of playing time in him. Yeah, even just his body language when I asked him, he was almost like, you know,

No. Why do you think I'm ready to do that? And then when I then asked him off the back of that, do you believe you can emulate Messi and Ronaldo in terms of continually performing at the top level in Europe into your mid-30s? And obviously the two of them have gone on beyond that and moves have taken them outside of Europe since then.

And he said, you know, everyone knows how professional I am, my work ethic, the way I look after myself. Watching him whip his top off after that winning goal on Sunday did remind me of me when you looked at that torso. He's in the shape of his life, isn't he? And he said, I want to... Mo was also a regular at KFC. LAUGHTER

Shall I make the gag, James? Shall I make the gag a second time on another podcast? Go on, Si. Go on. We're a double act. Got a body like Ned Flanders. It was good first time round, even better second time round. And he basically said, you know, I want to keep going at the highest level for as long as I possibly can. And the highest level is not Saudi Arabia, is it? And of course, yes.

You know, everything he said on Sunday and, you know, he was only, I think, two and a half minutes was the entire chat. But it was all about cranking up the pressure on Liverpool. You know, it's part of the PR game, isn't it? I think, you know, we saw it a little bit at Old Trafford earlier on in the season when he said then, you know, of course, this is my final year.

Then he kind of backtracked and said, well, as things stand, it is because this is the last year of my contract. You know, after he got the winner against Brighton a few weeks ago, there was that tweet, wasn't there, that he put out about, you know, no matter what happens, you know, I'll always remember, you know, what it feels like to have moments like this at Liverpool. And then, of course, Sunday was going a step further. Yeah, I came away thinking, of course, this is going to create big headlines, but

they were the words of a player who is desperate to stay. There was another standout quote which probably gets lost amidst the I've had no offers I'm probably more out than in was he said there's no other club like this and I think he doesn't underestimate the value of that bond that he's got with Liverpool and the way in which Liverpool has been great for him as much as he's been great for Liverpool the adulation he gets that I don't think he would command anywhere else.

and then there was another there was a light-hearted moment towards the very end of the chat where going back to what Simon said before about Van Dyke

speaking is almost part of his duties as captain Van Dijk made a beeline for us and obviously I think he was probably as surprised as we were to see that Mo was still talking to us and he kind of stood on Mo's shoulder for the last 20 seconds or 30 seconds of Salah's chat with us so when Salah said about I want to keep playing at the top level he kind of pointed at Van Dijk and said with this guy before

before he made his way onto the team coach so coming on to what you said Tony about where this leaves Van Dijk and Trent I don't like you know they're three separate negotiations aren't they but I think clearly out the three you know I think Van Dijk seems to me the most relaxed about the situation I've always I think we've said repeatedly on the pod haven't we that out of the three I've always thought that who would have been most confident about it would be Van Dijk that's

That remains the case. I think with Salah and Trent, it's more difficult to make any kind of sweeping judgments at the minute. What stuns me, James, is how long did he say? Two and a half minutes? How did you get so much out of him? I mean, was he talking at three times speed? When you actually read his answers, actually, were pretty short. And you could tell that once he'd said what he wanted to say...

He wanted to get away. It wasn't like he suddenly had a road to Damascus moment where he was like, I'm suddenly going to do 15-minute chats with the English written press after games. It was clearly Mo Salah doesn't do things on a whim. He thought about it. He decided the time was right. And do you know what? It will divide opinion. And I understand the argument that, oh, you know, why do you have to go and drop a bombshell like that?

it's a massive week, Real Madrid against Man City. I didn't have a problem with it. It's exactly the time to do it. Exactly. And do you know what? I don't go along with the idea that, oh, you know, this will destabilise things ahead of two massive matches. Like, the guy is absolutely at the peak of his powers, if you like, in terms of what he's delivering. You know, what is it? 12 goals, 10 assists and 18 games already this season. You know, a goal involvement every 65 minutes, which is just absolutely obscene.

He's scored in five successive Premier League games. He's still Liverpool's most potent attacking weapon. He's showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. And after another match-winning performance, he obviously has decided, right, I'm cranking things up because he's clearly frustrated with the pace at which these negotiations are going. Well, the banner, maybe not here today, but certainly in the Kop end, says Mo Salah, fires the bow.

Now give him his dough. And you can't argue with that again, can you? So, eight points clear at the top. And we seem to be saying every week on the pod, well, we didn't see this coming in the summer. We didn't see this coming in the summer. Well, no, definitely not at this stage. I mean, for Liverpool to have that sort of advantage...

I think most people would have thought, well, as long as they're competitive in the top four context and maybe have a little bit of a go, that would be good. But you've still got a tough run of games to play and then Christmas. So I'm sure we'll make more. I think we'll be able to draw more conclusions once you get into the new year, even being totally honest. But that said, Liverpool beat Man City...

and go 11 points clear at the start of December. It's pretty mega that from Liverpool's perspective. I mean, I think back to the 2019-20 season when they beat City at Anfield, I think to go eight points clear at the start of November, and that felt like a big moment, you know, in the season. It felt like they beat Aston Villa the week before in the game that I always bang on about, and then they went and beat City again.

if you lose to Aston Villa as he could have done and the results are different against City maybe the whole season maps out very differently because the points gap is so

so much smaller. But Liverpool from that point on just accelerated and were miles away. I mean, had it not been for the pandemic, I think the gap between Liverpool and second place would have been bigger than any gap that ever exists in football league history in the First Division or the Premier League. But whether Liverpool can do that again is another matter. But I mean, I'm always confident when Liverpool are playing Man City at home. The record, even against Pep Guardiola, has been excellent, really. You know, Jurgen Klopp,

Had a great record against Guardiola at Anfield. Won a lot of big matches. I know the football is different under slots, but I was speaking to James about this before, but I actually think, you know, that Salah's comments can ignite Anfield a little bit. You know, it's almost been quite serene for Liverpool so far. I know they've had a few games where they've been behind and they've got back into it. But even against Southampton, it was like there was a level of measurements with the performance. It wasn't like they were...

you know, throwing everything at it to get back into the game. They just seemed to back themselves that they would. So... Yeah, there wasn't a panic. There wasn't a panic. There wasn't a panic and it wasn't like a load of substitutions and change of formation. It was just keep wearing them down, keep wearing them down. Salah obviously equalises mistake, then a mistake for the penalty. I can stop you there. We talked last week about Southampton passing the ball. Ha ha ha ha!

You know what? I thought we'd never get there. I mean, that one, Tony, can I just say... We did tell him to stick to his principles. Yeah, well done, Mr. Principles, Russell Martin. I mean, you know what? Russell Grant would have done a better job. Well, I thought that the first half, it summed up the Premier League at the moment. You know,

a manager who is determined to see this dogma that he believes in through on the pitch it was one of the worst goals i've ever seen you know from trying to play off from the back with his back to goal a shanked clearance and then obviously he scores and then you have the southampton penalty which and another reminder that the authorities just aren't working together is that is that a penalty am i insane for thinking that's not a penalty it's outside the box

still looked outside the box it's outside the box yeah so why the author i hate talking about referees but it just sums up the game the way it is at the moment the way everybody's consumed by this style and the way of playing and meanwhile you've got the authorities you just can't come to the right decision about anything ever the mad thing with that var decision was i saw the justification was that there wasn't conclusive enough evidence

to like overrule the on-pitch decision, which for me with a decision like that, which is surely it's cut and dried whether you decide it's inside or outside the area. How different is that to an offside? Surely the whole point is you look at the replay and make like... Draw the lines. Yeah, exactly. I don't, I genuinely, and I know in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter because Liverpool found a way.

But that did baffle me. Because I was actually right in line with it. Initially, I thought, well, it's outside.

and then you watch the first replay and you're like well it is outside it's going to get this penalty won't stand and then I couldn't believe it when Michael Oliver took a look and gone yep that's inside the box and I know that obviously the line counts as inside but he's not when you look at where Robertson makes that challenge it's quite clearly a few inches outside the box and I also thought that Lana was a bit lucky to get away with a yellow for that challenge on Gravenberg first half as well and again it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things but

Yeah, two big decisions there that didn't go Liverpool's way. Can I just say, well, VAR, I've got to say, I mean, I don't want to sound like, you know, a luddite, but the version of what we have at the moment just isn't working and it hasn't been working for a long time. I could accept it if on the field the referees made the wrong decision regularly because it's a hard job. Refereeing is a hard job. You know, it's a game which is played at

tremendous pace where you've got a split second to make a decision but now it just feels like i i thought that was a red card james i agree if it was a red card and it's not a penalty and yet neither one of them seems to want to make the decision you know anymore it's just very frustrating that's not just from a liverpool perspective perspective i just think it's just like oh no i can't say that no you can't say that oh let's just oh i've blown the whistle let's just go with it now right okay the mistakes being made

Well, Real Madrid, James. We've played them a couple of times before, haven't we? Do you know what? I think it feels like a bit of a strange kind of backdrop to this game because on the one hand, you think Liverpool really, really owe Real Madrid one. You think of the misery they've inflicted

you know, over the last 15 years, really going back to that remarkable night in 2009, when Benitez's team hammered Madrid at Amford. I think they've met eight times since Liverpool haven't won any of those eight meetings. You think of,

the tears of Kiev. You think of Paris in 2022 as well. Yeah, I think the dynamic is the much bigger game this week is at Anfield on Sunday. You know, the chance to go 11 points clear as City. I think also because of where Liverpool are at in the Champions League,

they've got room for manoeuvre haven't they and that doesn't mean that Real Madrid are in 19th exactly I also think this Swiss league methods of doing the Champions League hasn't worked well

It's taken away the excitement. Real Madrid in November, we should all be buzzing about, but it's a bit like, I'm not quite as excited as I should be about it. It feels like that to me as well. And Real Madrid aren't in the best of shapes, are they? Obviously, they announced yesterday that Vinicius Junior is out with injury. They've got a fair few injuries.

missing at the minute so yeah i think anfield will still be bouncing but yeah it's not it just doesn't feel like the stakes are quite as high as maybe we thought they would be when the draw was made it is an important game but given the state of the champions league side is there a case for slop doing a brendan rogers and playing a weakened team no i'm

Of course there isn't. I was hoping you'd say Yetso had launched an assault on you. No, I mean, right. So in the context of Liverpool's qualification campaign, Liverpool,

it still has obviously some meaning, but there's not a huge amount of pressure on the game. And as well, I think you've got to give slot on Liverpool credit for obviously putting themselves in that position. Obviously, you know, the top of the group, aren't they? But I do think Liverpool's record against Real Madrid over a long period of time hasn't been great. And I think

a victory I think might help a few people, you know, a psychological barrier, if you like, and potentially a reference point for later on in the competition. Because if Liverpool are going to go far in this competition, there's every chance that they'll play Real Madrid at some point. I'd much rather face them later on in the season, have them beaten them earlier in the season, and

Just so I could just be more of a fan thing more than anything else. But a lot of the players have been involved in these games as well, where they've actually taken a few pastings off Madrid as well. So I think they've got to go and have a right go at them. I mean, I know what you mean. The context around it isn't quite as intense as it ordinarily would be. But I'll tell you what, if Liverpool go and beat them, it's going to give people a lot of confidence going into the next run of games. And then, as I said, potentially later on in the season, because Liverpool,

They've been beaten by Real Madrid, you know, a lot in the knockout competitions, in the finals, going back to, when was the last victory, James? 2009. 2009 Benitez, which was a 4-0 victory, which was an incredible night, isn't it? And they've had a lot of heartache against them since then. So I sort of feel like, you know, it's a good opportunity to get one over them here. You're listening to Walk On, brought to you by The Athletic.

Looking further down the line, James, City is massive, isn't it? It certainly is. Yeah, I was speaking to someone last night, actually, who was desperately trying to get a ticket for Sunday and had been quoted 900 quid by someone. They were saying it was already becoming crazy to try and lay your hands on a spare because I think people smell blood, don't they? You look at how open City were last

against Tottenham and you you know you almost think you've got to now put the foot to the throat you've got to take advantage you've got a pile on the misery City have been such a formidable force in the the modern era yet I think that game against Tottenham last weekend kind of dismissed this idea that oh you know maybe everyone's just a little bit uncertain about what Pep

going to do with his future and you know now that Pep signed that contract you know everything will just slot back in and it was there's some real structural issues there when you think as good as Tottenham were and I thought Tottenham were really brave in the way that they played but they played through City so easily and you think about how dangerous Liverpool are when they attack at pace if

If there's those kind of holes and space to expose and you look at someone like Koulousefsi, the way that he absolutely tormented Guardiola, Anfield will be an absolute bear pit on Sunday afternoon. And yeah, you've just got to be ruthless because we know that when they get bodies back, City will improve massively.

You know, as the course of the season goes on, you know, I'm sure they'll spend money in January, probably buy themselves a Rodri replacement. So you want to take full advantage of when they're in this crisis.

Yes, I mean, one of the things that City are uncomfortable with, they don't like you running with the ball and breaking really fast. Hmm, will Ernie go, oh, a bit of a clop ball? I think he'd be well advised to be a bit more direct against them and certainly put it on top of them. Because, you know, the teams that have beaten City the last few weeks haven't beaten City by trying to beat City. They've sort of adapted the games a little bit and been...

as i said been a bit more direct um and that you know when liverpool have got good victories over city over the last last 10 years certainly under clock they've got ahead of them got in front of them quickly um i referenced the game in 2019 a bit earlier where liverpool got two early earlyish goals and then city she actually came back and responded quite well in the game second half they had to go themselves because they always do

But, you know, the lead that Liverpool have built up and the sense of confidence inside the stadium made it very difficult for them to get back into it. So I think Liverpool will have to sort of come out of them a little bit quicker. Bear in mind how fragile, you know, the run of form that City are on. It would be a spectacular achievement from them if they'd been, you know, beaten the last five in a row. I mean, it's unprecedented. So Liverpool, I think, need to sort of...

get the foot and put it right on their throats and have a go at them. And you've still got the players to do that, of course. I don't think you need to change too much, but just put it on them early on and get the crowd up and make it difficult for them. Yeah, I mean, James, this is a game which will be decided as much on the psychology as the skill level.

The City team, under pressure, they need to make a stand by wearing a frantic Atmosfield. With a frantic Atmosfield. Atmosfield. That's my new name for Anfield. Atmosfield. This is Atmosfield.

in the front of Anfield. You know, there's going to be a huge amount of pressure and if Liverpool are on the front foot and get things going early, it's going to be hard to be a City player in that cauldron. Yeah, yeah. I think I'm right in saying that Guardiola is only ever one at Anfield behind closed doors. He's never led City to victory there in front of a full house.

And he, despite fans of other clubs not liking it, Guardiola is one of those opposition managers who has gone on record many times about why it is so difficult at Anfield because of the atmosphere that's generated, the ability to inspire and intimidate in equal measure. And yeah, like I said before, it will be bouncing. I think you just have to be careful, don't you? Because I'm sure slot will be...

As we said before about the Southampton game where there was this kind of measure of calmness, no panic set in even at 2-1 down with approaching 25 minutes to go. That is going to be important, that not getting too caught up in the occasion and the emotion of it because City are still dangerous. And even as poor as they were against Tottenham last weekend...

they still had chances. You know, Haaland had three or four chances, especially early on when it was still nil-nil. He could have had a couple of goals. And of course, one of those goes in and we know that that just changes the whole dynamic, doesn't it? So you just, you don't want to give City a sniff. You need to be measured.

You need to feed off that emotion in the crowd. Of course you do. But it's got to be in the right way because I just think as long as Liverpool make sure that protection is right and they don't leave themselves open, then I just see them causing City so many issues with the firepower they've got at the minute. You know, we sometimes...

You know, we overstate the importance of games. I suppose we all fall into the Super Sunday trap every Sunday. But this one does feel, it does feel, Si, as if...

I'm not sure it'll win the title for Liverpool, but it may knock City out of the title race and that is a big deal. Yes, it would be because they're obviously the team that everybody knows in the second half of the season put to run together and they still might even if they go 11 points behind.

I'm going to be really interested to see what City do in this game as well, because it's not just about what Liverpool do. Now, I might be wrong, but I think that Guardiola will want to address this losing streak that they're on. And a draw is not the end of the world for City. Now, I remember the game, I remember the season now, the 2018-19 season. City came to Anfield and just tried to get a draw, basically. You know, they were very conservative in what they did. They weren't very ambitious players.

I wonder whether he'll approach it the same way there. But as you said, Tony, he's coming up against a different Liverpool now. And I do agree with James. I think the good thing about this Liverpool is, you know, the match going fan base certainly are beginning to see this. They just keep going and keep going and keep testing and

you know, the back line of the opposition's offences when, you know, when they're behind or they're looking for a goal, just keep them turning all the time. And eventually it pays off and you've still got the individual quality, you know, in moments when they need them to make a difference. I mean, I must say, by the way, I thought on Sunday, slot substitutions worked perfectly, you know, like bringing on Diaz and McAllister when he did, just gave Liverpool that extra energy and direction.

So that's another plus point from Slott, because I think, obviously, where he fell, he lost the game against Forest, because I don't think he picked the right team, if I'm being honest. But he seems to have learned from that experience and, on this occasion, introduced players that made a big difference. So, for me, it shows, you know, that Slott is learning. He's learning by one of the few, the very small mistakes that he's made. But this is a new test for him. I mean, as good as the wins have been for Liverpool...

shitty in the way they play it's the ultimate test really for any Liverpool team and if they can overcome it it will give everybody the confidence that Liverpool can can really do some exciting things this season and James you know what we need really is a Salah hat-trick to underline what he said this week and and then do you think your mix-o-mate will stop for you again?

I hope so. I think it's unlikely. I think having said what he had to say on Sunday, I'm not expecting Mo Salah to pop up in a mix zone any time soon. It was certainly a rarity that, but yeah, the form he's in at the minute really does bode well, doesn't it? For this week, you know, of course, he's got his own personal history with Real Madrid as well. So,

So he'll be desperate to put one over them. I know I asked Van Dijk when he stopped after the game on Sunday as well, I asked him about the history of these games with Real Madrid and he kind of said that he doesn't use those agonising setbacks as fuel, if you like, but...

But I know that Salah does. I remember when he stopped after the 2019 Champions League final against Tottenham. He said that earlier on that day, he'd been looking at pictures of him crying after Kiev to get him in the right frame of mind. So I think, yeah, certainly he'll be desperate to continue this hot streak against Real Madrid. And then, yeah, all focus on City. I mean, the other thing that does baffle me slightly is obviously there's so much

narrative around the injuries that City have had and the injuries that Arsenal have had but

because Liverpool are winning, no one even mentions Liverpool's injuries, do they? Costa Simicas is going to be out for a couple of weeks by the sounds of it with an ankle problem that he's suffered in training. We're waiting to find out when we're going to see Alisson, Alexander-Arnold and Jota back. Obviously, Chiesa's barely kicked a ball for Liverpool and Harvey Elliott, that was the welcome sign of him back on the bench at Southampton on the weekend. So the fact that Liverpool have made light of those absentees, you know, just, just,

just puts what they've achieved so far into perspective. Well, Mo Salah, the stage is set for you. Real Madrid, Manchester City, you've spoken, you've said your piece. Now, get out on the pitch and prove what you can do. Well, you don't need to prove what you can do because you've done it all before. But you know what?

It'd be nice if you did this again. And that's it from Walk On, your Liverpool podcast brought to you by The Athletic. Thanks to James and Simon for joining me and you two for listening. We'll be back next week. We'll catch you then. The Athletic FC Podcast Network.