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Arne Slot said there was "no issue to resolve" after Mohamed Salah returned for Liverpool's 2-0 win against Brighton on Saturday – a week after he took aim at the club in a fiery interview.Hugo Ekitike scored at Anfield after 46 seconds and Salah, brought off the substitutes' bench in the first half, set up the Frenchman's second goal after the break. Salah, 33, last week accused the faltering Premier League champions of throwing him "under the bus" after he was left on the bench for the 3-3 draw at Leeds – the third match in a row that he had not started.The Egyptian also said that he had no relationship with Liverpool manager Slot when he spoke to reporters after the match at Elland Road. He was omitted from the midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan, which Liverpool won 1-0, and was the subject of intense scrutiny in the build-up to Saturday's home game. Slot said at Friday's pre-match press conference that he would speak to the forward later in the day, adding: "I have no reasons (for) not wanting him to stay."Speaking to reporters after the win against Brighton, the Dutchman said there was "no issue to resolve" with Salah, whose corner was headed home by Ekitike in the 60th minute. "For me he's now the same as any other player," he said. "You talk to your players if you're happy or unhappy with things, but there's nothing for me to talk about after what happened against Leeds, after the game."Slot confirmed that the winger was left out of the squad for the fixture in Italy due to his interview but defended his approach. "The question is always, and everybody has a different opinion about that, should he be (left out) once, twice, three times, four times, four months, 12 years? Every manager makes different decisions in that, but he wasn't involved in the game against Milan and I spoke to him Saturday."And I think, as I usually never say anything about (what) we talk about, I'm not going to make an exception now, but I think actions speak louder than what has been said. He was in the squad again and when I had to make my first substitutions, I brought him in. And he performed as I think every fan, including me, would like him to perform today."Salah now has 277 goal involvements for Liverpool in the Premier League – 188 goals and 89 assists – a new record by a player for a single club in the competition, overtaking Wayne Rooney's mark for Manchester United. Salah, who signed a new two-year contract in April, now departs for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The length of his absence depends on how far Egypt go in the competition in Morocco, with the final on January 18.The forward, who has been linked with a move to the wealthy Saudi Pro League, had invited his family to the Brighton game as speculation swirled over his future. Slot laughed off a question about whether the match could have been Salah's last for the club."He wasn't the only player who walked around the pitch thanking the fans, because the fans deserved a thank you from us," he said. He added: "Mo is going to go to the AFCON now, I hope he's going to do very well, and in the meantime we have to play here without him, with not that many players available at the moment."Salah, third in Liverpool's all-time scoring charts with 250 goals, has won two Premier League titles and one Champions League crown during his spell on Merseyside.He scored 29 Premier League goals to win the Premier League Golden Boot last season as Liverpool romped to a 20th English league title, but has managed just four league goals during the current campaign. Saturday's victory for Liverpool was their first at Anfield since November 4 and lifts Slot's men to sixth in the table, easing the pressure on the beleaguered coach. 

Liverpool manager Arne Slot blasted Hugo Ekitike for a stupid sending-off after tapping home a winner against Southampton in the League Cup on Tuesday and then removing his shirt in celebration. The Frenchman, who replaced record signing Alexander Isak at half-time, had been booked already for kicking the ball away in frustration and the second yellow five minutes from time left Liverpool defending a 2-1 third-round lead with 10 men.Liverpool captain Andy Robertson told said it was a stupid thing to do when on a yellow card and Slot doubled down afterwards. “I think it’s also stupid if you haven’t had a yellow card yet,” he said.“Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned, maybe a bit old school, but I did score a few goals – not at this level – as well and if I maybe outplay three players, which I never did, and then hit it in the top corner, then maybe you can say ‘oh, this is all about me.’“But if I had to score a goal like he did tonight, I would have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and would say ‘It’s all about you, Federico. Great assist, great run and I didn’t have to do a lot’. It was stupid, not smart in every sense... he’s now suspended for Saturday and that is far from ideal.”Ekitike later apologised on Instagram: “The emotion got the better of me tonight,” he said. “My apologies to all the Red family...”League leaders Liverpool, with a 100% record so far this season, have a tricky away trip to unbeaten Crystal Palace next in the league. Slot fielded a completely changed starting lineup on Tuesday from the side that played Everton on Saturday, with Isak starting and scoring his first goal for the club.“It wasn’t our best performance, which probably has a lot to do with players that haven’t played for a long time or for the first time,” he said. The manager said Isak would get increasing game time, with Liverpool trying to build him up faster than usual, but did not expect him to be fully up to speed until after the next international break.Club World Cup champions Chelsea suffered an early scare at third tier Lincoln City but came back from a goal down at half-time to win 2-1 with teenager Tyrique George equalising in the 48th and providing the assist for Facundo Buonanotte’s 50th-minute winner.League One (third tier) Cardiff City provided the upset of the eight games on the programme by beating top flight Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor. Premier League bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers won their top flight clash 2-0 against Everton, who had James Garner hit the bar with a second-half free kick and Jack Grealish coming off the bench.Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gomez scored four, including a 24-minute first-half hat-trick, as Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion thumped third tier Barnsley 6-0 at Oakwell to reach the fourth round for the fifth time in six seasons. Second tier Wrexham gave their Hollywood owners another home night to savour by beating Reading 2-0, with Nathan Broadhead scoring both – his first for the Welsh side who go through to the fourth round for the first time since 1977.Premier League Fulham beat fourth tier visitors Cambridge United 1-0 at Craven Cottage with Emile Smith Rowe scoring the 66th-minute winner. Championship side Swansea City and fourth tier giantkillers Grimsby Town are already through to the fourth round along with Premier League Brentford and Crystal Palace.