Football: ‘Insane’ Salah won’t stop, says Klopp after Reds beat Spurs
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Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah (left) scores his team's second goal.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Mohamed Salah will be remembered as “one of the best strikers you ever saw” because his numbers will be “absolutely insane” after the Egyptian cleverly fashioned one goal and was gifted another in the 2-1 English Premier League away win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The 30-year-old opened the scoring after 11 minutes when he expertly controlled a pass from Darwin Nunez inside the area, turned and fired a low shot into the corner with his left foot.
His second goal five minutes before half-time was a gift from Eric Dier after the defender’s miscued header from a kick downfield by Alisson, gave Salah the chance to run clear and dink the ball past Hugo Lloris.
He is only three goals away from moving above seventh-placed Kenny Dalglish (172) in the list of Liverpool’s all-time top scorers and Klopp said he would not be stopping there, while calling the Egyptian’s statistics “insane”.
“Kenny Dalglish, Robbie Fowler, they probably had times where they didn’t score,” Klopp said.
“Mo will not stop, he is in the top eight scorers for Liverpool and he will not stop. When you look at Mo’s stats, it’s insane.”
Salah has only six Premier League goals this season but looks to be back to his best, which is good news for Liverpool as they try to repair the damage of a poor start to the season.
He has been involved in scoring or assisting 19 goals from 20 games in all competitions this season, a figure he has bettered only once at this stage in his six seasons with the club.
“Even with a ‘slow start’, he was involved in most chances in Europe, but we didn’t take them or he didn’t take them,” Klopp said.
“That can happen for a striker, it’s a completely normal phase... when you look back on his career in four, five or six years, everybody will remember one of the best strikers you ever saw because (the) numbers will be absolutely insane.
“Tonight, what pleased me the most, he scored two goals and then he played like a real team player.”
The hosts had their moments with Ivan Perisic hitting the woodwork in each half and they could have had a penalty when Ryan Sessegnon was bundled over by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
After the break, Spurs raised their game, boosted by Dejan Kulusevski coming off the bench, following his injury layoff. He made an almost instant impact as he fed Harry Kane, who scored in the 70th minute.
But Liverpool weathered the storm to claim the win and end a run of two Premier League defeats, leaving them eighth on 19 points after 13 games. Spurs slipped to fourth on 26 from 14.
Said Kane: “It has been the story of our season so far – we haven’t played well enough in the first half and got punished.”
After losses to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, Klopp celebrated wildly at the end on Sunday and he admitted winning at Spurs could be a big moment for his team.
“Yeah, I got a bit carried away but it was big, absolutely big,” he said.
Conte, meanwhile, said he was disappointed with the fans booing his side at half-time.
“First of all, I think we have to show great respect all the time for our fans,” the Italian said.
“They are our fans and they pay for their tickets. At the same time, if you ask me if I was a bit disappointed (about the booing), yes. Because it’s important in every moment to be honest and I always continue to repeat, we have just started a process.
“After a year (since he joined Spurs), we have made a lot of improvement. If someone thinks, after just a year, we’re ready to win, I say it would be really, really difficult.
“Liverpool is a good example that you need time and patience. If we have this, everybody is okay. If not, then we can lose our passion and our enthusiasm.” REUTERS
