The form of Mohamed Salah has been a hot topic this season, as has the manner in which he celebrated, from the bench, Roberto Firmino’s game winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain in a UEFA Champions League group stage match.
Yesterday, Salah found himself on the bench again when a big scoring strike was achieved. The Egyptian had already been subbed off in the 66′ for Xherdan Shaqiri when Daniel Sturridge leveled for Liverpool in the weekend’s biggest Premier League match at Chelsea. Sturridge’s strike rescued a point for the Reds, who remain undefeated in League play this season.
It was however, the first dropped points that Liverpool have suffered in the league. When Sturridge found the back of the net, Klopp raced over to Salah and gave him a big hug. Check it out over at this link.
Klopp admitted that Salah had a poor game, but backs the Player of the Year, and record setter to get his groove back.
“It was tactical, he was not injured,” Klopp explained in a reporter question as to why Salah was subbed off.
“It was not Mo’s best game of his career, 100 percent, but coming in a game like this, constantly in situations like he comes in, that makes a world-class player. You fail, you miss, whatever, that happens. No problem with that, but I want him so that he wants to be decisive, to score in these situations.”
“You could see the first ball he missed a bit it was not in the right position, and the next ball he passed! Why? He could have shot.”
“It’s like riding a bike. It’s not that you wake up in the morning and you can’t finish and you can’t ride a bike any more.”
“That’s how it is. You need to work for these moments when it’s clicking. That’s the period he’s in, no problem with that.”
Yesterday’s draw dropped the Reds from the top of the table. They remain level on points with new first place team Manchester City, who have a +6 goal differential advantage over them.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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