Arne Slot confirms exactly why he left Mo Salah on the bench during PSG loss

Salah remained an unused substitute throughout Liverpool's loss

In a repeat fixture of the clash that saw Arne Slot's side eliminated last season, Liverpool fell behind 2-0 via goals from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The result came after Liverpool manager Slot had experimented with his starting lineup, opting to utilise a back-five for the first time this season.

This meant making use of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong as wing-backs in the place of usual traditional wide forwards like Mo Salah.

However, even as Slot's intended matchplan failed to render the intended results, the Dutchman still refused to make use of the Egyptian, instead opting to bring on Alexander Isak as the Reds searched for a goal.

Speaking to reporters after full-time, Slot has summed up exactly why he chose not to make use of Salah during the final stages of the clash.

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Slot said: "In the last part of the game it was more about us surviving than there was ever a chance of scoring.

"You never know because last season we scored five minutes before the end, but I think this was 20, 25 minutes where we only defending.

“Mo has so much qualities but to be 20, 25 minutes defending in his own box, I think it’s better for him to save his energy for other tough games coming up.”

Despite the disappointing defeat, a result which Jamie Carragher claimed "should've been 5 or 6 [to PSG]," Liverpool still have a chance to turn things around in a second leg at Anfield next week.

Reds' fans will only have to look back to May 2019 for inspiration when it comes to great European fightbacks.

Following a 3-0 defeat to Lionel Messi's Barcelona, Liverpool incredibly came back to win 4-0 in another Anfield return leg — before going on to win the tournament.