Q&AAlisson Becker: Read the goalkeeper's pre-Inter press conference in full

The Brazilian answered questions from journalists at San Siro, where the Reds meet Internazionale on matchday six of Champions League's league phase.

On how he feels about Mohamed Salah's comments and whether they have 'impacted the group'...

Well, it is not an easy situation, but as a group we take [it] as best as we can take. Of course, we have the personal relationship with him. Talking about myself now, I've been playing with Mo since I came to Europe, one year in Roma and now eight years, if I'm not mistaken, at Liverpool. He's a great guy, a great character, he is a legend for Liverpool FC. We achieved so many things together. And, of course, personally, it's not something that makes me happy, but in football we don't have too much time to stay moaning about any situation. We have a big challenge tomorrow, a big team to play against. Inter Milan are doing so well in this season, has been doing so well in the recent past. So, my focus, our focus, the focus of the team, is on the challenge we are going to face tomorrow.

On what he has said to Salah and whether there is a sense of 'being let down'...

Him not being available, I think, is just a consequence of what he did and he is smart enough to know that. I didn't speak to Mo about it. How I want to talk, as I said before, we have a good relationship. He is not just a teammate, we spend so much time together. We don't spend too much time away from the training ground, but we are friends, we are good friends. You share so many moments together, happy moments, sad moments, so that creates a bond between people. I will have a conversation but, again, this is going to be private because it's personal.

On how together the dressing room is...

As I said, as good as we can be. I think all the players are going to have different thoughts about the situation and that's OK. But we know the challenge we are facing at this moment – not performing well, not having good results. That's been difficult enough for us. Those are big challenges for us – to try to change the situation, to try to play better, to be more consistent in the games. So, it doesn't matter too much how we feel personally. But we are going to give a proper reaction, we want to give a proper reaction to it tomorrow – to the situation and having due respect to Inter Milan, trying to win the game and to deserve it by playing well.

On how he views Salah's comment about 'being thrown under the bus by the club'...

I think the manager was really wise in his answer and I agree with him: I don't know what that means. Maybe you have to ask Mo what he means about that.

On whether he thinks Salah 'will play for the club again'...

I don't think anything. What I hope, yes, that he plays again for the club. But that's a personal situation, that's a situation between Mo and the club. We as his teammates, as his friends, we hope the best thing happens for him. But as Liverpool FC players, we want the best thing for the club as well. So, we want a win-win situation for everyone.

On his relationship with Arne Slot...

Yes, my relationship is good with the manager. Yes.

On Wayne Rooney saying Salah had 'disrespected his teammates' and 'the impact a situation like this can have in a dressing room'...

I haven't seen what he said, so I don't like to comment on things that I didn't hear myself. It can have an impact. It's not something small, it's Mo Salah. I think what is happening now here tells [you] about the situation. But again, we are grown-up men, we understand this is a personal situation for Mo. I don't believe that is his goal – to disrespect anyone. I believe he has the freedom [of] speech, to talk about how he feels about his own situation. What we expect is a player that wants to play, that is not comfortable being on the bench. But again, you have the freedom to talk, but you need to deal with the consequences of that. I think that's clear. As a team, again, it's not important how we feel, but it is important how we are going to react now. The reaction is staying together, working hard to overcome a bad situation that we are living. It's not just about Mo, it's about the team, it's about what is the best for the club, so that's what we are going to try to do tomorrow.

On how the last few days have been for the squad...

After the interview, I thought it would be really weird but it wasn't. Again, we are grown-up men, we know this is about a personal situation and we respect that. We played our last game on Saturday night and there has not been too much time. So, the time we spend together in the training ground was to rest, to recover and focus again on a huge team: Inter Milan, who has been really successful in recent years, reaching Champions League finals, winning titles, the situation they are in in the Champions League is really good. They are playing well, they have so much quality. In Serie A, they are second in the table, one point behind Napoli. They have great strikers, great midfielders, great defenders, a great goalkeeper. So, it's a big challenge for us and that's where our focus is now.

On whether he feels Salah has been 'criticised unfairly by people outside the club'...

I don't follow too much what people say about him, so I don't know exactly what kind of criticism [it is], so I cannot have an opinion about something that I don't know. But if he has said he is feeling like that, he has the right to talk about it. But this is part of football, criticism is part of football. How I deal with that myself, I try not to follow too much about what you say. Not because I'm not interested but because I have three kids, I don't have much time at home to do that. And again, the challenges we have already, they are really big, so we need to be really realistic about our situation, about what we are living. The things we need to improve, it's really difficult to identify what the problems are and we are trying to do that. So, we are really focused on that. That's my say on that question.

On whether he thinks his own legacy 'should carry certain recognition in the team on a daily basis'...

I think in football things happen so quick – we play every three days. We just won the Premier League, [an] amazing achievement, and now we are here in this situation, not a situation we wanted to be [in]. But we have to deal with that and that's how football works. You have to perform every game, every week – that's part of playing for Liverpool FC, that's part of playing [in the] Champions League, that's part of playing [in the] Premier League. You have to compete at the highest level, and that's what we try to do, that's what I try to do – to be at my highest level so I can be the best for the team as well.

On whether he feels his leadership and that of other senior players is 'more important than ever'...

Yes, definitely. I think that's what everyone hopes from us. The expectations are that the senior players that we step up, the expectation from the club as well. That's [what] we are here for also. Of course, we are here to win games, to win titles, to perform. But in my opinion, I take this responsibility and I feel this responsibility that I can give more to the team than just playing well, but I can give a good contribution by being a leader to the youngest ones, to the new players. We've been here so long, so in a way we have the Liverpool way in our mentality and I think that should go on to the other players and we are the players that have to pass [it] on.

Not only me, not only Virgil [van Dijk], not only Robbo [Andy Robertson] – all the players who've played here a long time at Liverpool. We have Curtis [Jones] that is a local lad, we have so many players that are playing more than two, three years for Liverpool and they have this mentality as well and they are trying to step up as well. Maybe not coming into the interviews, maybe not talking too much, but by the actions. So, being a leader is not only about coming here and talking to you guys. That demonstrates courage but, at the same time, I am being honest and just sharing my view. That you take action on the pitch is what we expect from every leader, it's to talk at the right time but to take action on the pitch.

On the squad being 'fully behind Slot'...

Of course. Yes, we are.

On what gives the squad 'belief that Slot will turn things around'...

Well, the Premier League last season. Before Arne came in, everybody talks about the huge challenge that is being the substitute for Jürgen Klopp. It looks like now everyone takes for granted what we achieved in the last season. It should not be taken for granted. That's enough, that should be enough. We believe in his knowledge, we believe in his style of playing, that he is capable of helping us to turn around this situation. I believe it is not only about ourselves but that's the situation with the club as well – they trust him. So, it's not only his responsibility, as a player I share the responsibility with him to turn around the situation.

Of course, he's responsible for the way the team plays, but we players know that we are responsible for the situation. We take the responsibility and we are the ones that take action, we are the ones that can change everything. We are trying. That doesn't make the situation easier – to know that we have the responsibility, to know that we need to take action – but we are trying to do that. We have the desire to change the situation. The manager has the desire to change it as well and to be back on the winning track, playing the same good football that we were playing in the last season.

On his reaction to Salah's interview and the approach to take against Internazionale...

As I've said, this is not a situation that necessarily makes us happy. First and foremost, because on a personal level we all love Mo. He's a hugely important player for the team, he's a wonderful human being and he's a spectacular footballer. He's been very important for the club over the last nine years and he has produced some incredible numbers. He's won everything there is to win over the course of his career. And, of course, this situation isn't nice. We were a little bit caught by surprise but we know that it's a personal situation, so we are leaving it between him and the club because it is a personal situation. Ultimately, what we believe doesn't really come into things. What matters is what he thinks and what the club believes as well. What we want is for him and the club to reach an agreement which is in the best interest of him and the club and all of the playing staff.

As for tomorrow night's match, we want to play our best. You can expect a Liverpool side that will go out there with the will to win, that wants to improve the current situation, play good football and, above all, play a winning brand of football. It won't be in any way easy. We're well aware that Inter are a really strong side here and when they play at home they have all of their fans behind them. We know it's a huge challenge. But with the utmost respect for Inter, what we want to achieve is to win this game.