Liverpool manager Arne Slot says he is "very happy" that forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract with the club.

No pay cut for Egyptian forward on deal to 2027Salah cites trophies, family and Slot as reasons to stay Mohamed Salah should keep “trying to reach perfection” according to Arne Slot after ending uncertainty over his Liverpool future by signing a new two-year contract. Salah agreed to extend his illustrious Anfield career to a decade after months of negotiations between his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, and Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes. Financial details of the deal, which was confirmed by the player and club on Friday, have not been disclosed but the 32-year-old has not taken a pay cut. His previous three-year contract was worth a basic £350,000 a week, although his overall earnings were about £1m a week. Continue reading...

Progress made in talks over deal for Egyptian forwardVan Dijk also likely to remain at Anfield past this season Liverpool are increasingly confident Mohamed Salah will sign a contract extension to stay beyond the summer after progress in talks over recent weeks. It is a significant boost to Liverpool, whose captain, Virgil van Dijk, is also likely to prolong his stay beyond June. The Dutchman said this week that progress had been made with regards to securing his future. The two players have been instrumental for Liverpool this season, with the club closing in on a record-equalling 20th top-division title. They have been ever-present in the Premier League under Arne Slot. Salah has scored 27 goals in 31 appearances and Van Dijk has helped Liverpool concede only 30 to put them top, 11 points clear of Arsenal with seven games to play. Continue reading...

Liverpool manager Arne Slot insists he is not worried about the form of Mohamed Salah, despite the forward going four games without a goal following a 3-2 loss to Fulham.

That Liverpool will be deserved Premier League title winners but far from infallible has been obvious for some time. No need to panic just yet after defeat by the Thames. Collecting silverware while requiring further growth and repair can be taken as a positive sign. An often-rampant Fulham, enjoying their football perhaps because any pressures are now lifted, with the brilliant Alex Iwobi turning on the style, reminded top-tier English football is full of quality, that laurels can never be rested on. For Arne Slot, the first half – and much of the second – at Craven Cottage was a case study of what needs to improve, and such is the ruthlessness of successful dynasties, who will need to be replaced. Continue reading...

Liverpool do not require favours to secure the Premier League title but their neighbours gave them one anyway. Everton denied Arsenal the victory they needed to maintain extremely thin hopes of challenging the league leaders courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty. Leandro Trossard put Mikel Arteta’s visitors on course for a win their overall display just about deserved but a soft second-half spot-kick, awarded for a fall by Myles Lewis-Skelly into Jack Harrison, enabled Everton to secure a fifth draw in six Premier League matches. The upshot is that Arne Slot’s side need only 11 points from their final eight games to seal Liverpool’s 20th league championship. Arsenal can have no complaints over the destiny of this season’s title. Continue reading...

Slot: ‘Nothing else matters’ if Liverpool win league titleOwen suggested cup exits left ‘bitter taste’ on season Arne Slot has hit back at Michael Owen’s suggestion that the Premier League title would not be enough for Liverpool this season by insisting nothing matters more than becoming champions of England again. The former Liverpool striker was taken to task by Virgil van Dijk after the Merseyside derby on Wednesday for claiming the campaign was “building into something really special” until Slot’s team exited the Champions League and lost the Carabao Cup final. Owen agreed it would still be special for Liverpool to win the title for a record-equalling 20th time but with the caveat that the two cup defeats in six days would leave “a bitter taste”. Continue reading...

Slot welcomes move and says officiating has been ‘OK’Everton defender booked for challenge on Mac Allister The Premier League referees’ body, Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), has acknowledged that Everton’s James Tarkowski should have been sent off early on in their defeat at Liverpool. Arne Slot welcomed the move on Thursday after Tarkowski was only cautioned for a reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister. The referee, Sam Barrott, gave Tarkowski a yellow card and David Moyes conceded the defender was fortunate to stay on the pitch. PGMOL believes the video assistant referee, Paul Tierney, should have recommended a review. Continue reading...

It has been an odd, slow bicycle race of a season, but this is hardly the fault of Arne Slot’s impressive league leaders There was an extraordinary moment in the seconds after Diogo Jota had scored the only goal of this Merseyside derby, as the home supporters seethed and writhed, bodies tumbling, a wave of noise barrelling around the Anfield stands. At which point a lone middle-aged man could be seen emerging from the seats, waving his fists in the direction of what must have been the fourth official, making wild but oddly precise spectacles gestures with his fingers, all the while being hurled back by the combined efforts of three men in orange jackets. Continue reading...

Liverpool manager Arne Slot disputes the decision to only award a yellow card to Everton's James Tarkovski for his tackle on Alexis Mac Allister in his side's 1-0 Premier League win in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.

The 246th Merseyside derby was as much of a cathartic release for Liverpool as another step closer to a 20th league title. Arne Slot’s side cleansed themselves of recent torment against Everton and two deflating cup defeats with a hard-fought but deserved victory courtesy of Diogo Jota’s fine individual goal. A maximum of 13 points is all that is required from the remaining eight games of the season to put the Premier League trophy on display at Anfield once again. There was a determination to seize control of the derby from the start by Liverpool and, unlike the previous two encounters at Goodison Park, a composure in possession that enabled them to do so. The painful Champions League exit and deserved Carabao Cup final defeat that preceded the international break, plus of course memories of their last run-in with Everton 49 days ago, may also have fuelled the hunger and intensity of a team closing in on the Premier League title. Continue reading...

Manager wants reaction at home in Wednesday’s derbySlot says PSG defeat cut deeper than cup final loss Arne Slot told Liverpool players their work rate in the Carabao Cup final was not acceptable during talks aimed at reinforcing the standards that have underpinned their Premier League title pursuit. Liverpool resume their title challenge with a Merseyside derby against Everton on Wednesday when Slot and his squad will be seeking to put a ­bruising spell behind them and edge closer to a 20th league champion­ship. Continue reading...

Everton manager chasing first win in 22nd Anfield derbyClub consider keeping Goodison Park for women’s side David Moyes has said the enter­tainment provided by the most recent Merseyside derby is a prime ­example of why authorities must be careful not to “sanitise” Premier League football. Everton and Liverpool meet again on Wednesday, 49 days after their tumul­tuous 2-2 draw in the final derby staged at Goodison Park. Four red cards were shown after the final whistle – to Curtis Jones, ­Abdoulaye Doucouré, Arne Slot and Slot’s assistant Sipke Hulshoff – after James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute equaliser sparked wild scenes at the end of a competitive and controversial game. The match itself, Moyes insists, is what many football fans want to see. Continue reading...

Liverpool boss Arne Slot says Trent Alexander-Arnold is only focused on returning to full fitness following speculation over his future.