The image of Mohamed Salah holding his hands aloft in apology to the Liverpool fans at full-time after victory over Frankfurt was suggestive of a humble footballer who’s capable of introspection and is therefore well aware that his performances of late have not come close to the level expected after seven extraordinary seasons as their all-conquering hero.

But for some reason he’s seemingly unable to come to terms with the reality of his poor form – which he evidently accepts represents a notable slump – threatening his place in Arne Slot’s starting XI.

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The 33-year-old was dropped to the bench on Wednesday, and watched on as his teammates stopped the rot after a four-game losing streak by hitting a very poor Frankfurt side for five.

He was handed a a 15-minute cameo by Slot, but contrived to further boost the idea that he’s not currently worthy of a starting spot by shooting from a tight angle instead of playing a simple square ball for Florian Wirtz to score his first goal, before blazing high and wide after cutting inside in?the?Salah position, from which we’ve seen him curl in dozens of goals for Liverpool.

Reds hero Jamie Carragher hailed Slot’s “great decision” to drop Salah having said after the defeat to Manchester United that the Egyptian should no longer be seen as a Liverpool untouchable on par with Virgil van Dijk.

“I think we’re at the stage now where?Mo Salah?shouldn’t be a guaranteed starter every week. I think this is a real conundrum for the manager going forward. I don’t think Salah should be like Virgil van Dijk where it’s like; ‘first name on the team sheet’.”

The smart money would be on Salah returning to the starting XI for the trip to Brentford on Saturday, not least because Alexander Isak will likely miss that game having been taken off at half-time at the?Waldstadion with a groin injury.

But Slot will also be mindful of Salah’s reaction to being left out for a second time, after the winger took his absence from the team on Wednesday, which represented the first time he’s not been included from the off in consecutive Champions League games as a Liverpool player, with a level of grace at odds with the humility he displayed when fronting up to the fans.

Daily Mailreporter Lewis Steele said on X, before deleting the post: ‘Mo Salah straight down the tunnel at FT. Loads and loads of positives to take from tonight for Liverpool but he looked in a strop.’

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And after the game Salah changed both his profile picture and cover photo on X, in a gloriously petty show of his frustration.

He swapped a picture of him holding the Premier League title aloft for a snap of him and his two kids, and changed his cover photo from a picture?of him holding lifting the Champions League trophy alongside his Reds team-mates to a plain grey background.

They’re not the actions of a footballer at peace with a world in which he may not be the main man for Liverpool going forward, more a suggestion that he will make life very uncomfortable for Slot and his teammates should he not be given the leeway to rediscover his form that he clearly believes he merits.

No player is bigger than the club, and that’s of course the mantra Slot should be focused on when selecting his teams for Brentford and beyond, but Salah’s reaction feels like him throwing down the gauntlet to the Reds boss, daring Slot to snub him again at the risk of suffering his wrath.