Shock Rotation: Salah and Izak benched as Liverpool face Galatasaray in Istanbul
30 septembre 2025
Rotation in Istanbul
Liverpool manager Arne Slot surprised many by leaving out Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah and Swedish striker Alexander Izak from the starting XI for the UEFA Champions League clash with Galatasaray in Istanbul.
Liverpool travel to Rams Park in Istanbul for the group stage’s second matchday. They opened with a 3-2 win over Atlético Madrid, a game where Salah scored and Izak made his Reds debut.
Slot explained his decision to bench Salah and Izak as part of a broader rotation after a weekend Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace, the Reds’ first league loss of the season.
Salah and Izak sat on the bench alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley, while Jeremie Frempong, Hugo Ekitike, Curtis Jones, and Cody Gakpo started in Istanbul.
Before kickoff, Slot indicated Frempong would operate on the right wing in Salah’s absence, with Dominik Soboslay moving to right-back to accommodate the plan.
It seems Slot wants Frempong to adapt to the right-wing role now, in case Salah misses games for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in December. He told Amazon Prime that his changes were about utilising the squad rather than sticking to a fixed XI.
Slot also stressed that Liverpool remain cautious with Izak and Mac Allister after a disrupted pre-season, explaining why both were benched in Istanbul. Izak would play roughly an hour plus, with the understanding that time on the pitch helps players gel with teammates. Both are still integrating into their positions—Izak up front, Mac Allister in midfield.
He added: “In attack we rotate between Izak and Hugo Ekitike, and in midfield we rotated because Mac Allister had a tough pre-season. When you play every three days, you can’t expect Izak or Mac Allister to play 90 minutes on every occasion.”
Slot noted Izak did not train during pre-season, Mac Allister missed much of it, and Conor Bradley sat out large portions of preparations. “Milos Kirk” also faced limited game-time as part of a broader rotation plan to balance workload across the squad.
“All these factors mean we sometimes have to rotate players, and we also believe others can handle big games in this kind of schedule,” he said to reporters after the line-up was announced.
Liverpool head into two crucial league fixtures after Galatasaray: Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge in Week 7, then the England derby against Manchester United at Anfield in Week 8, just after the international break.
They had lost their first league game of the season to Crystal Palace but had already collected 15 points from the first six rounds, keeping them atop the table with Arsenal closing in by two points.
Despite solid early-season results, Salah has yet to hit top form, with only two goals, trailing Erling Haaland at the top of the scoring charts by six goals. The challenge for Liverpool remains keeping balance while chasing both domestic and continental targets.
