Arne Slot guaranteed Mo Salah is going to do something SPECIAL this week

Liverpool were embarrassed on Sunday afternoon by losing to Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Pilgrims find themselves sat 24th in the Championship League table after 30 games, conceding 63 goals in that span, but when the Reds visited Home Park, they were rampant from minute one to ensure Liverpool barely had a sniff at goal.

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Arne Slot had purposefully changed the team around extensively after the 4-0 battering of Tottenham in the EFL Cup semi-final at Anfield on Thursday, perhaps keeping an eye on the rescheduled Merseyside Derby coming up against Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday.

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But it was clear from the outset that Liverpool were short of quality and when Harvey Elliott handled the ball in the penalty box, Plymouth finally had their chance to strike and the Reds were left to pay.

The performance as a whole was grim to watch, the sort of game that made you almost hope that there wouldn't be an equaliser so you didn't have to sit through an extra half an hour of the contest to decide a winner.

However, while the fringe players didn't have enough to get a win across the line today, the remaining stars that were left at home will be raring to go when the Reds next take to the field and if history tells us anything, then Mohamed Salah has something special up his sleeve for us.

Mo Salah to come to Liverpool's rescue once again

By design, Salah was not available for today, with Arne Slot decided to rest him and keep him fresh. After all, while the FA Cup is a competition that the team respects and make no mistake about it, Slot will have wanted to win today, it is arguably the least of Liverpool's worries this season.

The Premier League has been the trophy that Reds fans will have been eyeing most once it became apparent that Liverpool had the minerals to compete once again this season, and the Champions League has always been woven into the club's history - entering the last 16 as the competition's top seed will go a long way to securing a seventh European Cup.

In addition, the club had a favourable draw in the EFL Cup again this season, and after winning it last season under Jurgen Klopp, Slot will have been hoping to take the first piece of silverware available to him this season by adding a record-extending 15th to the trophy cabinet.

As such, while the Reds would not have wanted to lose today, Slot clearly had something telling him in the back of his mind that amidst a frenzy of fixtures heading his way, this was going to be the one he under-manned his squad in. Media speculation of a quadruple was, and always will be, far-fetched.

Mo Salah will be in a better position today for having not featured in the game than if he were played, and there is a clear chain of reasoning to suggest that he will have a trick up his sleeve when the Merseyside Derby rolls around.

Before Salah scored a brace against Southampton in the Premier League back in November, he had the international break off to recuperate.

Likewise, before he scored a brace of goals and a brace of assists against Tottenham in December, he was absent for the EFL Cup match against Southampton.

In addition, when he was rested for the Champions League game against PSV, his return to the pitch saw him score a brace against Bournemouth in the Premier League. Now he's been given the cup game against Everton.

Of course, as with every season, Salah rarely fails to deliver for Liverpool. Across 34 appearances in all competitions this season, he has only blanked in seven games, where he was largely unfortunate to not have delivered a goal contribution.

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But while the negative discourse around the team rings on throughout tonight, which is an outlook that fans are entitled to hold - the team was poor and players failed to step up when Slot needed them to - there is still so much to be positive about and when he play Everton (A) on Wednesday, may it not be surprising if Salah gives you something to smile about.

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