Sports

Arne Slot Explains Why He Dropped Mohamed Salah for Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland

Published

7 days ago

December 4, 2025

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Arne Slot says he dropped Mohamed Salah for Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland because he felt the team he chose was best suited to the opponent.

The Dutch tactician was blunt in his response after being quizzed over Salah’s absence from the starting XI for a second consecutive Premier League game on Wednesday.

Salah had remained on the bench for Liverpool’s 2-0 win over West Ham at the weekend and was introduced at the interval against Sunderland, as Liverpool dropped points for the seventh time in their last nine league games.

The Reds needed a late goal to salvage a point against Regis Le Bris’ side, with Florian Wirtz’s deflected shot rescuing them from another home defeat.

Slot Explains Mohamed Salah Snub

Speaking after full-time, Slot was asked whether his decision to drop Salah was based on ‘picking the best team for a given opponent’:

“That’s always the situation. It has nothing to do with Mo or anyone.”

Dominik Szoboszlai started in place of Salah for a second game in a row, with Cody Gakpo occupying the opposite flank.

The Egyptian forward struggled to make an impact after coming on at the interval, with both of his shots blocked and just one of his five crosses reaching a teammate.

Salah has been a shadow of his usual self this season, scoring four goals and providing two assists in 13 league appearances for the Reds.

He has netted only twice in his last 13 games across all competitions and last registered an assist in the 2-1 win over Everton in September.

Liverpool Fail to Ease Pressure on Slot

Liverpool manager Arne Slot during their match against Real Madrid.

With just seven points from his last nine games, Slot continues to face scrutiny over a poor start to his second season at Anfield.

Liverpool have been unrecognisable under the Dutch tactician so far, securing only seven wins from 13 games and sitting eighth in the table.

The Reds return to Premier League action on Saturday at Leeds, who earned a stunning 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Elland Road on Wednesday.

Slot’s side then take on Inter Milan in the Champions League, as they look to bounce back from a 4-1 defeat to PSV in their previous European outing.

Sports

Francis Ngannou Now Really Wants to Fight Jake Paul Next

Published

9 minutes ago

December 10, 2025

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Francis Ngannou has changed his mind about fighting Jake Paul.

Most Valuable Promotions seemingly approached the former UFC heavyweight champion about fighting Paul after they canceled the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis exhibition, and were looking for marquee names to seemingly satisfy demands from Netflix to retain a spot on its Q4 schedule for a boxing event.

But Ngannou slapped the offer down and said that it was an insult to be considered. The opportunity thus went to Anthony Joshua, whom Paul fights at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Friday, the 19th of December.

Now, though, Ngannou is interested — and there’s a clear reason why.

Francis Ngannou Was ‘Insulted’ by Jake Paul’s Offer to Replace Gervonta Davis

Francis Ngannou has opened up about his reaction to receiving an offer to fight Jake Paul.

Why Francis Ngannou Changed His Mind About Fighting Jake Paul

Since Ngannou rejected him, Paul has gone out of his way to bad-mouth the MMA star.

“The guy’s a joke. He’s a dumbass. He’s stuck in mud. Francis to me is an easy fight as a boxer. So that’s all we need to talk about with him.”

Paul was, at that time, speaking at a press conference alongside Joshua. And even AJ suggested Ngannou wasn’t “about it” as, if he were, “he should be up here” ready to compete against Paul, rather than him. “You’ve got something to say, and you need to prove yourself in boxing, the best way to do it is to let your hands go,” he said. “So, for me personally, you didn’t see much talking from me. We come up here, and we do the talking in the ring.”

Speaking Wednesday on The Ariel Helwani Show, Ngannou had his chance to fire back at Jake.

What Ngannou Said About Jake Paul

Ngannou told Helwani “it was a very good offer” to fight Paul. And though he rejected it at the time, there’s a chance, now, win or loss to Joshua, that he’d fight Paul in 2026, and it’s because of the animosity that now exists between them.

“I really like Jake, but on the other hand, this guy got in your head, to piss you off a little bit. Yeah, [I would now fight him].”

When asked if he’d still have an interest in fighting Paul even if he loses to Joshua, Ngannou seemed unfazed, as he said the internet sensation had little to no chance of success in that bout, anyway. “I personally don’t give a chance of him … there’s not a zero chance, but it’s less of a chance against AJ.”

“Let’s say, if he survives that fight,” Ngannou added, “that means he’s at that level” to fight him and other opponents who have won a championship in the UFC, or in boxing.

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis Exposes Brutal Secret From Jake Paul Training Camp

This could only spell bad news for Jake Paul in the upcoming Anthony Joshua showdown on Netflix.

Sports

Harvey Elliott Won’t Join Aston Villa Permanently From Liverpool

Published

36 minutes ago

December 10, 2025

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Aston Villa won’t be signing Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott on a permanent deal, Unai Emery has confirmed.

Elliott joined Villa during the summer transfer window, signing on loan from Premier League rivals Liverpool. The Midlands outfit have an obligation to buy in his contract, with GIVEMESPORT sources confirming that this is only triggered when he makes 10 appearances.

Elliott hasn’t featured in any of Villa’s last seven Premier League matches, which is rather telling that Emery doesn’t even want him involved in the squad, never mind the starting XI. It’s understood that Villa will have to pay £35m to turn his move from Liverpool permanent, so it’s no surprise that they are being cautious with his game time if they are not fully convinced by him.

Unai Emery Confirms Aston Villa Won’t Sign Elliott

Speaking ahead of Aston Villa’s game against FC Basel, Emery has provided a major update on Elliott’s future. The Spanish manager confirms that he hasn’t travelled with the squad for their Europa League clash, and Villa won’t be signing him on a permanent deal from Liverpool…

“We are speaking with him and about his situation. He is not here with us. Hopefully we can get the best for him and the best for us. I respect him as a player and as a person. He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him. Hopefully we can get a solution for him to try to play consistently and try to continue in his career with us or not. I have spoken with him two or three times about the situation we have with him. Firstly, my decision and also the situation. He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract.”

It’s certainly not a surprise that Elliott has been left out of Villa’s squad to face Basel, considering his current situation, but the bluntness of Emery’s words could be a bit of a shock to Villa supporters.

Sports

Liverpool Want to Sign Brighton Star Yankuba Minteh to Replace Mohamed Salah

Published

1 hour ago

December 10, 2025

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Liverpool are eyeing a move to sign Brighton star Yankuba Minteh as a potential replacement for Mohamed Salah, according to reports.

The Reds have had a difficult campaign, suffering nine defeats in their last 16 games in all competitions, and star forward Salah has sparked major concern for his future at the club after a public outburst against Liverpool and Arne Slot following the 3-3 draw with Leeds at the weekend.

Salah was left out of the squad for the 1-0 win over Inter Milan in midweek, and is set to head off to AFCON following the weekend clash with Brighton, but it’s possible that he has played the final game of his Anfield career, and Liverpool are looking at potential replacements should that happen.

Liverpool Eyeing Yankuba Minteh

There are several names under consideration to come in as a replacement for the legendary Egyptian, with GMS sources understanding that Saudi clubs and MLS clubs are interested in a deal to sign Salah in January should he be made available.

One player who has made a big impression on Liverpool bosses is Brighton star Yankuba Minteh, who has registered one goal and four assists in 15 appearances for the Seagulls so far in the Premier League this season.

The ‘deadly’ 21-year-old forward has been described as ‘dazzling’ with electric speed, is best known for his incredible ability in one-on-one situations against defenders, and it’s understood that he would be ready to move to a bigger club in the upcoming transfer windows.

Liverpool are fans of his Premier League experience too, and the report states that the Reds are currently the most convinced by him, with some chiefs behind the scenes seeing him as someone who could become the cornerstone of a new era at Anfield.

Is Minteh Ready to Replace Salah?

While Salah’s form has fallen off a cliff so far this season, there is no doubt that he is one of the club’s greatest ever players, and whenever he eventually leaves, if that’s in January, next summer, or at a later date, whoever replaces him will have huge shoes to fill.

The easy thing to do would be to go and sign a superstar to come in and replace him, but we’ve already seen that there are issues with getting top players to bed in, and repeating the Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak issue would surely be insanity.

Instead, bringing in an exciting young talent like Minteh would have the fans behind him from the start as they watch his improvement, but they’d also potentially have a new superstar in a few years to take over the reins when the next cycle of the squad begins.

Brighton are notoriously difficult negotiators, so it’s highly unlikely a deal would be simple to do, or cheap, but Minteh could well be the ideal choice to come in and take Salah’s spot in the squad in 2026.