'Is this the start of Liverpool's life without Salah?'

Mohamed Salah has history at the London Stadium - and this may have been a day when Liverpool started to write a new chapter in theirs by moving towards the next generation without him following a 2-0 win at West Ham.

Head coach Arne Slot dropped the 33-year-old to the bench for a Premier League game for the first time since April 2024 - also at West Ham - with that decision taken by the Dutchman's predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

That was a day which ended with Salah firmly in the headlines.

First when he was involved in a touchline spat with Klopp as West Ham scored when he waited to come on as substitute in a 2-2 draw, and then when the notoriously reticent forward strode past reporters afterwards and announced: "If I speak there will be fire."

Here, Slot's selection carried a wider significance, not in drawing Salah's magnificent Anfield career to a close, but in indicating how the manager's £450m summer evolution may eventually take shape without the great Egyptian.

Slot has been publicly encouraged, not least by former England captain Wayne Rooney, to drop Salah following a string of below-par performances this season.

This is the easy part - the difficult one is how to replace such a world-class talent, who is third in the club's all-time scoring list behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.

Here, Slot provided a potential answer.

The first sighting of a re-shaped Liverpool delivered the result he and his team so desperately needed, a victory after a run of nine defeats in their last 12 games, and six of seven in the league.

And, to add to Slot's delight, it came after Alexander Isak scored his first Premier League goal since his British record £125m move from Newcastle United, and with £116m Florian Wirtz pulling many of the strings that led to a vital victory.

Slot's picks reaped a deserved reward, with Dominik Szoboszlai relieved of right-back duties, where he is wasted, to patrol the right flank in attack, with Cody Gakpo on the left and Isak as the main striker.

Dutchman Gakpo played his part with the cross for Isak's goal, then a thumping finish in stoppage time for their second.

Slot also used Joe Gomez at right-back - his first league start in 11 months - which not only released restrictions on Szoboszlai, but firmed up Liverpool's defence for a welcome clean sheet after conceding 10 goals in three games.

As for Salah, who will soon be lost to the Africa Cup of Nations, he kept a watching brief from the bench.

Slot was at pains to point out the forward - who signed a new two-year contract in the summer - "will have a very good future at this club because he's such a special player".

But based on form this season, Salah has run the risk of being left out.

Alan Shearer told BBC Sport: "It was a big call by Slot, but I guess it is made easier by Liverpool's results. When things aren't going for you, you have to make big decisions - and that was a big one because of what he's done for Liverpool in the past.

"But Salah can't complain because he hasn't been playing well, and when that's the case, then you have to accept the decision.

"It has worked for Liverpool, and it has worked for Isak, because he was the difference today.

Salah should not be written off, though. This is a dangerous game.

He had started 53 Premier League games in a row before this one, often appearing to be on a single-handed mission to bring the title back to Liverpool last season, which eventually happened.

Salah has made 419 appearances for Liverpool with 383 starts, scoring 250 times. He has made 300 league appearances, with 288 starts, since his move from AS Roma in the summer of 2017, scoring 188 goals with a win percentage of 64%.

In all competitions, Liverpool have won 263 games when Salah has played - a win ratio of 63%.

This is a talent that cannot be dismissed, but equally Slot would not be doing his job if he did not look to Liverpool's life beyond Salah - and the victory at West Ham offered some clues.

It will be intriguing to see if Slot brings him back against Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday,

Having only netted against Southampton in the Carabao Cup back in September, Isak's confidence will be done the world of good by that snap half-volley to end a 310-minute league goal drought on his sixth appearance.

Wirtz, too, showed some signs of what all the fuss was about when the 22-year-old German playmaker arrived at Liverpool with plenty of touches of deft intelligence while on a roving, roaming commission.

"I've been waiting for it and chasing this goal and sometimes it takes longer than you expect, but I'm happy to score a goal and help towards the win," Isak told BBC Sport's Match of the Day.

"It's never easy. As a striker you need momentum. Sometimes you go through these patches but hopefully this will be helpful towards building good form. We defended really well and scored twice so happy days."

For Liverpool and Slot, this was all about the win - only their second in the league since beating Everton 2-1 on 20 September.

The fact it was done with his expensive summer acquisitions showing better form will be an added boost as the pressure valve is released around the Dutchman over his future.