Jurgen Klopp wants to use Liverpool win as platform for next season
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Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that he is impressed by his side’s fighting spirit and wants them to build on the momentum for next season, following Wednesday’s 1-0 Premier League win over Fulham.
Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot to keep the Reds’ slim hopes of Champions League qualification alive as they remain in fifth on 59 points, just four points behind fourth-placed Manchester United but having played two games more.
“That is super important... we have to try to do something we can use, something we can build on in the next season. That’s exactly what we did and I’m pleased with that,” Klopp said of the victory.
“(Fulham are a) super strong opponent. I can’t respect any more what (manager) Marco Silva is doing there. I thought we controlled big parts of the game in the first half but in the second half it opened up.
“A really good team. It was tricky until the end. Five games won in a row is good. I liked it a lot.”
Fulham, who are 10th on 45 points, had the first decent chance of the game when Carlos Vinicius forced Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker into a save with a stinging shot. But a moment of madness from Issa Diop saw them fall behind six minutes before the break.
The centre-back looked to be in no danger as he allowed a pass to run across his body, and Darwin Nunez made the most of his indecisiveness to poke the ball away and the defender hacked him down, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot.
The decision was controversial as Nunez looked to have dived but, regardless, Salah stepped up and smashed the resulting spot kick straight down the middle to extend his streak of scoring in consecutive games at home to eight.
“It’s always difficult to win games in the Premier League, five on the spin is very good,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said, as the Reds recovered from a loss to Manchester City and draws with Chelsea and Arsenal to make their late surge in the season.
Silva, meanwhile, slammed the penalty decision and claimed that it was “clearly not a penalty”.
“When you lose a game in football to that penalty, (it) is embarrassing,” the Fulham boss said.
“When you have the referee, then the VAR (video assistant referee) to help the referee, it is embarrassing. I didn’t speak with the referee. I think my players and everyone that is honest will say the same.
“I will listen over the next few days if it is a harsh decision but, for me, it is clearly not a penalty. The player (Nunez) is already in the air.” REUTERS
