'Thrown under the bus': Mohammad Salah hints at Liverpool exit after third-straight benching

Liverpool great Mo Salah is far from impressed by the limited minutes he has been receiving this season and insists he is being set up to "blame" for the club's troubles.

Salah has fallen out with manager Arne Slot in recent weeks, with the Egyptian star named to watch on from the bench as the Reds take to the field.

Liverpool's Premier League title defence stumbled yet again on Sunday (AEDT) after the side blew two-goal lead and conceded a 96th-minute goal in a 3-3 draw against Leeds.

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Despite the late goals from their rivals, Slot chose to leave Salah, who has scored 250 goals in 420 appearances with the club, on the bench.

"I'm very, very disappointed to be fair," Salah told reporters of his transition to being a bench player after the match.

"It's funny but I couldn't believe (I was on benched). It is a really disappointing result for us as a team because we expect to win a game like that.

"We managed to score two goals in the beginning and the game was going in our direction but we conceded silly goals.

"I'm sitting on the bench for 90 minutes ... the third time on the bench, I think for the first time in my career.

"I have done so much for this club, everybody can see that during the years and especially last season.

"Now I'm sitting on the bench and I don't know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That's how I am feeling.

"I think it's very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me in the summer, a lot of promises and nothing so far.

"I am on the bench for three games so I can't say they keep the promise."

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Slot confirmed post-match that his thought process behind the choice to bench Salah was due to the feeling that the team needed something different.

He also noted that the team needs to learn to adapt without Salah, given he will be representing Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations in only a matter of weeks.

Yet, in the eyes of Salah, it is unclear as to why he would be consistently benched, especially after he scored 34 goals and recorded 18 assists last season.

The 33-year-old admitted he has no relationship with his manager.

"I had a good relationship with the manager, and all of a sudden, we don't have any relationship," he said.

"I don't know why, it seems to me, how I see it, someone doesn't want me in the club.

"It is not acceptable for me. I don't know why this is happening to me. I don't get it.

"I am not bigger than anyone, but I earned my position. It's football. It is what it is.

"How I see it now is like you throw Mo under the bus because he is the problem in the team now. But I don't think I am the problem. I have done so much for this club.

"This club, I always support it. My kids will always support it. I love the club so much.

"I called my mum yesterday - you guys didn't know if I would start or not, but I knew. I said, 'come to the Brighton game (on December 14)'. I don't know if I am going to play or not, but I am going to enjoy it. In my head, I'm going to enjoy that game because I don't know what is going to happen now."

He then hinted his time at Anfield could be coming to an end.

"I will be in Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go to Africa Cup of Nations," Salah added.

"I don't know what is going to happen when I am there.

"In football you never know (when it is your last game). I don't accept this situation. I have done so much for this club."

The defending champions looked set to move into the competition's top-five with a win over the relegation battlers deep into stoppage time when Ao Tanaka arrived at the far post from a corner and sent the ball firing into the back of the net to ensure Leeds would stay out of the drop zone for now.

"The only ones to blame is us because we do concede these chances," Slot told Sky Sports after the match.

Liverpool were poised for just a third league win in 10 games when Hugo Ekitike scored twice in two minutes after half time, but Leeds responded when Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted from the penalty spot and Anton Stach leveled two minutes later.

Dominik Szoboszlai put the visitors in front again in the 80th but when nine minutes of added time was announced, the home crowd sensed another comeback and Tanaka delivered in the dying stages to send.

Elsewhere, the race for top spot narrowed ever-so slightly when Manchester City moved within two points of Arsenal following the league leaders loss to Aston Villa.

It's a familiar feeling for coach Mikel Arteta, who watched as City came from behind to win back-to-back campaigns in 2023 and 2024 and it's shaping up as a similar path.

Even after four losses in the league, City are now just two points behind the Gunners.

Ruben Dias, with a brilliant long-range goal, and Josko Gvardiol gave City a 2-0 lead at the break at Etihad Stadium and Phil Foden headed in a third in the second half.

Fourth-placed Chelsea have seen their own title challenge stall over the past week after a run of just two points from a possible nine.

Not even the return of Cole Palmer to the starting line-up for the first time since September could inspire the Club World Cup champions at Bournemouth in a 0-0 draw.

To add to a frustrating day, Liam Delap went off in the first half with a shoulder injury.

- with AP