After some tense talks, Mohamed Salah returned to Liverpool's lineup against Brighton and helped secure a 2-0 victory at Anfield.

Salah wasn't happy about being benched during their 3-3 draw with Leeds United the previous weekend, feeling that Slot had unfairly blamed him.

As a result, the club left him out of the Champions League squad against Inter Milan, a game Slot’s team won 1-0.

On Friday, when asked if Salah had played his last game for the club, Slot responded, “I’m going to talk with Mo this morning. What happens in that talk will decide what happens tomorrow.

“I need to talk to him first. The next time I talk about Mo, it should be with him, not here. There’s not much else to say. I’ll speak with him today, and how that goes will determine things for tomorrow.

“You can try asking in different ways, but I should talk to him first. We’ve talked a lot this past week since the Sunderland game. His people and our people have talked, and he and I have talked.

“I’ll talk to him again today.”

His Return to the Field

After all those discussions, Slot decided to put Salah on the bench against Brighton. Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, and Florian Wirtz started just behind Hugo Ekitike.

Liverpool had a dream start at Anfield when Ekitike scored just 46 seconds into the game, making it the quickest goal in the Premier League this season.

But in the 26th minute, Joe Gomez had to leave the game due to an injury, forcing Slot to make a change.

Even with three defenders available on the bench, the coach decided to bring on Salah for Gomez, moving Szoboszlai to right-back.

The Liverpool fans gave Salah a big cheer, and he quickly made his presence felt, almost setting up Alexis Mac Allister just a minute after coming on.

Liverpool went up 2-0 in the 60th minute when Salah took a corner and found Ekitike, who headed the ball past the Brighton goalie.

“He gave me a great ball; I just had to be in the right spot,” Ekitike said after the game. “I was, and it was an easy finish.”

With that assist, Salah reached 277 goal involvements in 302 Premier League games for Liverpool—the most for any player at a single club, passing Wayne Rooney (276) at Manchester United.

He now has 280 Premier League goal involvements overall, with his first three coming for Chelsea in 2013/14. He’s now behind only Rooney (311) and Alan Shearer (324) in that statistic.

The 33-year-old seemed motivated to prove a point against Brighton after being dropped by Slot. Also, Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had recently said that Salah's best days were behind him.

He played well, getting 45 touches, completing 27 of 32 passes (84%), successfully dribbling once, taking three shots, creating five chances, and, of course, providing that assist.

Arne Slot’s Thoughts

“I thought he was dangerous,” Slot told reporters after the game. “The first time he touched the ball, he almost made an assist to [Alexis] Mac Allister, who passed it across, and maybe could have shot himself.

“He was always involved in our attacks. It was good to see, but not surprising because he’s done it many times for Liverpool.”

When asked if Salah had shown that he wants to stay at Liverpool, Slot said, “I think you already know the answer.

“What we talked about stays between us. You saw what happened—he was in the squad and was the first player I subbed in.

“I never tell you guys what I talk about with Virgil [van Dijk] or Mo [Salah] or any other player.”

What’s Next?

Last weekend, Salah mentioned that he had invited his family to the Brighton game, hinting that it might be his last for Liverpool.

He patted the Liverpool badge and clapped to all areas of the crowd at full-time, but this week he avoided making any big statements, declining interview requests after the game.

The 33-year-old is scheduled to join his national team on Monday before the Africa Cup of Nations. Egypt's first game is on Monday, December 22nd, and they hope to make it to the final on Sunday, January 18th.

Sources say that the club will soon have more talks about his long-term future, which is still uncertain.

Several Saudi Pro League clubs are watching his situation closely, but his return against Brighton suggests that things between Salah and Slot can be resolved.

After a week of tension, Mohamed Salah and Liverpool's manager, Arne Slot, had a good talk. They even shook hands, easing worries about a potential conflict within the club.

Earlier, Slot mentioned he would speak with Salah, who had said he felt betrayed by the club and that his relationship with Slot was nonexistent.

This situation led to Salah being left out of Liverpool's win against Inter Milan. Many thought his time with the team might be ending.

But the meeting went well, and Salah could play in the Brighton game.

He hasn't been in the starting lineup for the past four games.

While the issue isn't completely solved, Salah's representatives and the club will keep talking during the Africa Cup of Nations.

Even if it's just temporary, this agreement should calm the situation.

Many fans were worried that the relationship was broken beyond repair.

Salah's interview after the 3-3 draw with Leeds made things worse for Slot.

Several Saudi Pro League clubs are interested in Salah, and the MLS could also be an option.

But, after Friday's talk with Slot, it seems less likely that Salah will leave.

Last Saturday, Salah said he couldn't believe he was benched for the whole game, saying it was the third time and a first for his career.

He said he was very disappointed because he had done so much for the club, but now feels like the club has betrayed him. He added that he felt someone wanted him to take the blame and that the club had not kept promises made to him in the summer.

Salah claimed he used to have a good relationship with Slot, but now they don't, and he doesn't know why.

Jamie Carragher called the interview a disgrace, and Steven Gerrard said it was wrong for Salah to say he'd been betrayed.

Salah's teammates have supported the manager and praised Salah's contributions to the club.

Slot had sounded hopeful, saying he had no reason to want Salah to leave.

It will be interesting to see if Slot starts Salah in Saturday's game.

Liverpool has changed to a diamond formation recently, and Salah might have to play a different position than he's used to.

With Alexander Isak possibly injured, Salah might play alongside Hugo Ekitike if he starts against Brighton.