LIVERPOOL: Liverpool has yet to allow a goal this season and Mohamed Salah has scored in each of the three games — all victories.
If this is what contract distractions look like at Anfield, new manager Arne Slot is fine with it.
Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold are all in the final year of their deals, and though it’s still early in the Premier League season Liverpool is the only team keeping pace with defending champion Manchester City.
Slot reiterated Friday at a press conference that “we don’t talk about contract situations over here” — unless there’s a new deal — and said the focus is on making it four wins in a row when Nottingham Forest visits Merseyside on Saturday.
“I’m fully focused on the individuals and the team,” he said about the trio in question, “and they are part of the team and trying to work with them in the best possible way to get the best out of them. So it’s not a distraction for me at all.”
The transition from Jurgen Klopp has been seamless.
Slot is the first manager to win his first three Premier League games without conceding a goal since Sven-Göran Eriksson at Man City in 2007.
“It’s not the defense who keeps a clean sheet — it’s 11 players who keep a clean sheet,” Slot said. “We try to convince them constantly about this because in an ideal world we don’t need (goalkeeper) Allison. It’s a team performance that we don’t concede and that has a lot to do with us putting in a lot of work without the ball.”
The schedule gets busy now, though, with seven games in the next three weeks. Liverpool plays at Inter Milan on Tuesday in the Champions League.
The international break saw lots of Liverpool players logging heavy minutes for their national teams.
“Maybe in the future I sometimes would love it to be a bit different,” Slot said. “It’s a positive thing that we are in such a good place that we have 10 players that can play every minute for the national team. It says a lot about the quality we have.”
Salah marked his 100th cap for Egypt with a goal in a 4-0 victory over Botswana on Tuesday in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. In the Premier League this season, Salah is the only player to have scored three goals and provided three assists.
Harvey Elliott will be sidelined for several weeks because of a foot fracture, which Slot said is “a blow” for both the team and the midfielder.
“He would have had a lot of playing time in the upcoming fixtures,” the manager said.
Next test for Slot is navigating Liverpool’s busy schedule amid Salah contract questions
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Next test for Slot is navigating Liverpool’s busy schedule amid Salah contract questions
Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh
- Despite falling behind early, Bologna equalized in the 34th minute before prevailing on penalties
RIYADH: It was a night of shared football culture in Riyadh as Inter Milan and Bologna met in the second 2025/26 Italian Super Cup semi-final. The travelling Inter support brought their drums, colour and constant noise, blending with Saudi Inter fans to create a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.
The match began at a blistering pace, with Inter taking the lead less than two minutes after kick-off. Marcus Thuram powered home from close range after meeting an accurate cross from Alessandro Bastoni to score the opening goal of the night.
Inter immediately searched for a second, with Ange-Yoan Bonny going close in the fourth minute, feinting past Torbjorn Heggem before dragging his effort just wide of the post.
After Inter’s early barrage, Bologna began to grow into the contest, with Jens Odgaard leading much of the offence. Goalkeeper Josep Martinez was called into action to preserve Inter’s advantage.
The energy among Inter supporters continued to build, with fans jumping in unison and lifting their scarves as they urged their side forward in search of a second goal.
That momentum was checked in the 34th minute, when a VAR review resulted in a penalty for Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini slotted the spot-kick coolly past Martinez to bring I Rossoblu back level.
Inter pushed forward after the break as the game opened up, but there was no getting past Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, who made four saves in the second half alone.
Hope briefly returned for the Nerazzurri when Bonny was brought down in the box in the 56th minute, only for the initial appeal for a penalty to be overturned following consultation with VAR.
Less than 10 minutes later, the stadium rose to welcome Lautaro Martinez. Brought on alongside Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi in a triple substitution, Lautaro made an immediate impact but was unable to find the decisive goal before the end of regular time.
Bologna came within moments of snatching a winner in injury time, but goalkeeper Martinez reacted sharply to make a crucial save, sending the semi-final into a penalty shootout.
The shootout began evenly, with both sides converting their penalties before goalkeepers intervened at either end. Nicolo Barella then fired over the crossbar, only for Juan Miranda to mirror the miss moments later.
Inter’s struggles from the spot continued as Ravaglia made his second save of the shootout, before Jonathan Rowe gave Bologna the advantage. Stefan de Vrij converted to extend the contest, but Ciro Immobile struck decisively to send Bologna through.
The Rossoblu will now face Napoli in the Italian Super Cup final at Al-Awwal Park on December 22, after the Serie A champions defeated AC Milan 2-0 in the first semi-final.
