Liverpool coach Arne Slot appeared in a press conference for the media to talk about tomorrow's match against Brighton, in the sixteenth round of the English Premier League, at Anfield Stadium.

He began his speech regarding Salah's exclusion from the Champions League match against Inter: "We decided as a club – and I was part of this decision – not to take him with us to Milan. I am always in contact with them (sporting director Richard Hughes and CEO Michael Edwards), but regarding decisions related to the lineup or the match squad, they leave it to me."

He added: "This does not mean that I do not talk to them. I mostly talk with Richard, not with Michael. The decision to include any player or add him to the squad is entirely mine."

He continued: "Do you want Salah to stay at Liverpool? I have no reason not to want him to stay. This club has won many matches thanks to him."

Regarding calling up Salah for tomorrow's match: "I will have a conversation with him this morning. The result of that conversation will determine how things will go tomorrow."

On the pressure of matches and many injuries: "It is helpful in the coming weeks that we will not play the same number of matches as we have so far. I wonder if there is any other team that has played three matches within seven days this season. We have done that three times already."

He added: "I am almost happy that we are out of the League Cup, because we would have to play with only 13 players who have Premier League experience, and then go to face Arsenal away on Tuesday after all those matches. Maybe some understand the reason for the lineup I chose against Crystal Palace."

He continued: "This may not be good for me, but I made the decision for the benefit of the team. Losing is never a good idea, but sometimes players need rest as well."

On the possibility of using Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike as pure strikers: "I don’t think height alone tells you if a player is suitable for this style. Sometimes a player is tall but not good at duels, and sometimes a shorter player is very strong in long balls. I think that currently it is better to use Isak and Ekitike in balls behind the defense rather than long balls on their bodies. I see Hugo trying to improve in this aspect, and there is great room to improve many aspects of our play. The more they play together, the better they adapt to each other and the cooperation improves. I have seen promising things from them; this is only the second time they play together. We will see more from them in the future."

Regarding Alisson's return: "Every time a player returns, especially a player of Alisson's quality, it helps a lot. But I think Georgi (Mamaradashvili) did a great job during his absence. I don’t think Georgi or Alisson had to deal with many chances overall, because we barely conceded chances in most matches. Georgi did well, but it is nice that Alisson is back."

On the condition of some players: "Federico Chiesa is no longer sick, he trained yesterday and will train today, so I assume he will be ready. It will take weeks for Cody Gakpo and Wataru Endo to return. Cody has a muscle injury, and Wataru has an ankle injury."

He concluded: "Apart from the fact that we have not lost in the last 4 matches, we have shown that we are a team that is hard to beat and difficult to create chances against. The players worked very hard, and they were a little unlucky with results, but they showed great resilience in four matches within 10 days with few available players. This is proof of the great effort the players made."