Arne Slot's telling statement on Liverpool stars 'liking' Mo Salah's brutal Instagram post

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Arne Slot claimed he didn't read anything into his Liverpool players liking a Mohamed Salah social media post criticising the state of the team - instead seeing their effort levels in recent weeks as proof of their commitment.

The Reds were left to lick their wounds after a 12th defeat of the Premier League season last time out at Aston Villa . The Midlands outfit secured a 4-2 win as they continued to cut through the Liverpool backline in the second-half.

Salah, who will play his final game this Sunday, recently announced he would leave Anfield after a challenging season. It has been the worst campaign of his Liverpool career and he's had to deal with being on the bench.

After appearing as a sub in the loss at Villa Park the Egyptian made some scathing remarks on social media. He said: "Us crumbling to yet another defeat this season was very painful and not what our fans deserve. I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies."

That post was liked by a number of players, which was seen by some as a swipe at the manager and his principles as Salah demanded a return to the "heavy metal football" pioneered by Jurgen Klopp - but Slot didn't see it has him being undermined.

He said: "I don't really know what it exactly means if you 'like' a post, yes or no. What I know, and that is my world , is to see how they train and I have not seen anything different compared to the rest of the season."

Asked how he will remember Salah, Slot added: "100 percent last season, he said the most special thing I have won was last season’s Premier League title. Now I can safely say that was the most special thing I have won in my life so I will remember that and how important he was in that season for the club and as a result also for me with all the goals he scored."

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Salah was integral to Slot securing the title in his debut season, but this year the pair have had their differences. A massive dip in performance levels eventually led to the Liverpool manager benching the Egyptian star, who responded angrily back in December.

He said: "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.

"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."

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