LIVERPOOL: Arne Slot joked Tuesday that Mohamed Salah must have inside knowledge of Manchester City’s fate over alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules after the forward suggested he had played his final game at Anfield against the champions.

City are facing 115 charges related to the alleged breaches and, if found guilty, could face severe punishment, including the possibility of relegation from the English top flight. Salah, whose Liverpool contract expires at the end of the season, has been at the centre of feverish speculation over his future.

The Egypt international said Sunday’s 2-0 win against City could have been his last home game against Pep Guardiola’s men, who have won six out of the past seven Premier League titles. “Probably until now this is the last City game I will play for Liverpool so I was just going to enjoy it,” Salah told Sky Sports after the match at Anfield.

“The atmosphere was incredible so I will enjoy every second here. Hopefully we just win the league and will see what will happen.” Slot, whose team have won 18 of their 20 matches in all competitions this season, has become an expert in side-stepping questions on the expiring contracts of Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold and on this occasion chose to make a joke out of it.

“Maybe Mo knows more about the 115 charges, so he expects them not to be in the Premier League next season,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “I do expect them in the Premier League. No, the boring answer is always the same. This is not the place, for me, to talk about Mo’s contract.

“Maybe I’ve said already too much, that would probably get the headlines. But it was a joke. I repeat, a joke!” City, who have lost six out of their past seven games in all competitions, strongly deny the charges.

Flying start

Liverpool, nine points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, travel to face mid-table Newcastle on Wednesday. Slot, in his first season at Anfield after replacing Jurgen Klopp, said his men had worked hard for their success.

“If we would have done this by just playing on 50 percent and it’s so easy for us, then they might feel, ‘Ah, we’re just too good for this league’,” he said. “But that’s definitely not what we feel against every team, no matter if it’s City or Liverpool or it was Wolves or Nottingham Forest.

“We had to work really, really, really hard to get the results, and I think that keeps them with both feet on the ground.” And the Dutchman said his players were not getting carried away with their breathtaking start to the season, with success part of the “culture” of the club.

“This club, this team, these players are used to the fact that they are top of the league or they are competing for every trophy, so then it helps that they have experienced this,” he added. — AFP