It was one of the biggest footnotes from Liverpool's 2-0 victory over West Ham on Sunday. Mohamed Salah was left on the bench for the Premier League tilt in London.
Arne Slot finally saw his side play a complete match and secure not only a huge three points, but a much needed clean sheet in the process as well. It was a great sight to see as the Reds ended an ugly stretch of results with the win.
Naturally, fans will be eager to see that performance replicated, and that could mean leaving Salah on the bench for Wednesday's meeting with Sunderland.
As shocking as that idea might have been just several months ago when he signed his Liverpool extension over the summer, here we are. I'm making the case for and against Salah starting on Wednesday.
The case for Salah to Start
He's Mohamed Salah. Case closed, the end. Oh, not enough? That's fair.
While we have seen the Egyptian megastar not come close to his ridiculous standards from the previous seven seasons at Anfield, he still possesses that special quality that only the greats have.
Even if he is having an awful day, he can pull a moment of brilliance and bag a stunning goal for himself or create something for others. That kind of game breaking ability is better served on the pitch as much as possible if the player is fit.
The Black Cats have surprised the footballing world so far this season as they sit in 6th in the table on 22 points having only conceded 13 goals from their 13 matches.
That kind of defensive solidity from a newly promoted side is not a normal occurrence, and for Liverpool, who despite their depth of forwards, have not consistently rippled the net this season, makes this an intriguing matchup.
Salah's individual brilliance, while less common this season, could be a big tool to go after this stout defense and get them on the back foot.
Perhaps being removed from the lineup, for whatever reason Slot wants to give, will be a wake up call to Salah and he will return to the fold locked in. That version of Salah is a dangerous option to have.
The case for Salah not Starting
Having said all those glowing things about our No. 11 talisman, he has been a far cry from that player for most of this season.
One of the more difficult things to consider is if Salah is not creating goals, what is he bringing to the table? His half-hearted efforts at tracking back have come and gone, but overall, he will always want to wait at the halfway line for a counter opportunity, and rightly so given his ability.
However, that kind of style only works if the rest of the squad is rock solid defensively and are not leaking goals for fun.
Unfortunately, the Reds have been porous on the defensive side of things and it needs to be all-hands on deck for the time being.
Sunday's showing against West Ham was a good example of Liverpool getting back to their solid foundation and not letting their opponent get a sniff of anything threatening.
It will be hard for Slot to alter much from what we saw on Sunday in a match that gave hope that a title charge might still be on the cards if things go right. If you could guarantee Salah would return to his old form, he's a penciled in starter.
Right now, that is just not the case and perhaps this newlook side needs to be given a chance to run.
Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo interchanged well with Wirtz in particular shining. In this scenario, they deserve a chance to do it again.