LONDON • Mohamed Salah has failed to find the net in eight games, but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has shrugged off his indifferent form, jokingly saying that "his career is not over".
The Egyptian forward, who scored 44 times in his maiden season at Anfield, still has 20 goals and seven assists this term and played a pivotal part in the last-gasp winner against Tottenham on Sunday.
"When everybody is talking about 'he didn't score in I don't know how many games', he doesn't seem to be bothered about it. I'm not," said Klopp, whose title-chasing side face Southampton today.
"For sure, we didn't really speak about it. I think if something is clear and obvious, you do speak about it. How do you deal with a situation when he scored 40 goals last year?
"His career's not over. It's like if he can score 20 goals this year, then he's scored 60 in the last two. Wow, that's not too bad."
Salah's success last season means he has attracted more attention from opponents in the current campaign, often being double-marked.
It has had the effect, though, of benefiting teammates, with Sadio Mane (20 goals) and Roberto Firmino (14) taking on some of the burden.
"Sometimes, you need a bit of time to adapt to the new situations and I don't think he really needed that," said Klopp, on Salah's overall value to the side and how he has coped with the close attention.
"If you have only one (goalscorer), you think maybe you rely a bit too much on that.
"This year, we don't rely on Mo's goals, but he's still in a very good position in comparison to all the other players.
"Seventeen (league) goals is a good number, and there are still a lot of games to come. But it was never a problem. We have 79 points - you cannot have that with a lot of problems over the year."
Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand is relishing the challenge of nullifying former Chelsea teammate Salah on the right side of Liverpool's attack.
"It's always good to play against the best players. That is why you play and it's the ultimate aim," he told Sky Sports.
"I'm just looking forward to seeing his strengths and seeing his weaknesses and trying to nullify some and exploiting the others."
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is fit to face his former club after he took part in a full training session on Wednesday to allay fears of a muscle injury suffered in the win over Tottenham.
The Dutchman outlined his importance on Sunday when he faced Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min in a two-on-one break with the game finely poised at 1-1.
Van Dijk took the decision to leave Sissoko with the ball, forcing him into a shot that the nervous Tottenham man missed hopelessly, paving the way for Liverpool to snatch a dramatic last-gasp winner.
"He's so important to us not only as a player, but also as a person. I couldn't say a bad word about him even if I wanted," said Klopp.
"Yes, he has improved us and he has improved since he came here as well. He is a different player to when he was at Southampton.
"Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final help you as a player."
THE GUARDIAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SOUTHAMPTON V LIVERPOOL
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, tomorrow, 3am
Klopp cool on Mo's dry spell. Mohamed Salah's success last season means he has attracted more attention from opponents in the current campaign, often being double-marked. PHOTO: AFP.
Klopp cool on Mo's dry spell - theworldnews.net
Klopp takes responsibility for Liverpool's 'long dry spell' Date published: Monday 2nd April 2018 2:00 Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp takes some responsibility for the club's 'long dry spell
Magnificent Mane and Milner mask Salah's dry spell as
Klopp said the group and fans needed to accept on the off chance that they are to end a 29-year dry spell for an alliance title. "We are attempting to keep this fantasy alive and right now it's everything great. Be that as it may, Chelsea are an extremely troublesome group and they are in a decent minute," Klopp included.
JÜRGEN Klopp did his pre-Southampton press conference a day early today. He was inevitably asked about the form of Mo Salah. That's what happens I suppose when your superstar forward hasn't scored in eight games. It's going to get attention. As ever, Jürgen seemed relaxed about the whole
Klopp Unconcerned With Firmino's Dry Spell - The Liverpool
Dec 22, 2017 · Jurgen Klopp put a productive spin on Liverpool's disappointing day at the "Today we make individual mistakes and that is not cool." That led a dry spell which pushed the side as low
Klopp urges Liverpool to overlook past agony in front of
Klopp cool on Mo's dry spell LONDON • Mohamed Salah has failed to find the net in eight games, but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has shrugged off his indifferent form, jokingly saying that "his career is not over".
Is Jürgen Klopp Right Not To Worry About Mo Salah's Dry Spell
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has brushed off Mo Salah's recent scoreless run and says he has no concerns about the 20-goal striker. The Egypt forward, who blasted 44 goals in all competitions in his debut season for the Reds last year, has not been quite as prolific this time around and he missed a
Klopp takes responsibility for Liverpool's 'long dry spell
Magnificent Mane and Milner mask Salah's dry spell as Liverpool go top again. It gave Liverpool a victory they looked to have thrown away, and sent Jurgen Klopp's men back to the top of
Klopp keeping it in perspective after breakdown vs. Arsenal
Klopp Unconcerned With Firmino's Dry Spell. New, 2 comments. Currently, he's in the midst of a dry spell, having scored only once in his last nine matches.
Klopp unconcerned by Salah's dry spell - SA Breaking News
Klopp cool on Mo's dry spell, Football News & Top Stories
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp takes some responsibility for the club's 'long dry spell'. The Reds last won a trophy in 2012 - the League Cup - but have not won the Champions League
Klopp takes responsibility for Liverpool's 'long dry spell
No comments:
Post a Comment