Jürgen Klopp praised Mohamed Salah’s work ethic after the Liverpool No. 11 scored his record-breaking fifth goal of the season on Thursday.
Salah scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute of Liverpool’s 5-1 Europa League victory over Toulouse after coming off the bench in the second half.
With this goal, the Egyptian gave the Reds the all-time record most goals scored by an English team in European competition with 43.
Salah currently has nine goals in 2023-24 across all competitions, bringing his total since joining Liverpool in 2017 to within five goals of 200.
Klopp was asked about the forward’s present confidence, adaptability, and longevity during his news conference before their match against Nottingham Forest.
Whether or if Salah’s current play reflects an elevated sense of confidence…
He clearly just likes being around the crew. That seems like a no-brainer to me. You would never catch him on the bench since he is itching for action. He had fun watching the other boys play and then getting to join in and score a goal. I’m thrilled for him. Although he has been an adult for some time, he is maturing in his role with us and perhaps football as a whole. His actions demonstrate that maintaining peak performance necessitates pausing to appreciate success before returning to the fray.
It was a fantastic goal, a goal of the highest quality. Maybe he would have broken even more records if I were more interested in such things; I know I left him out at least once when he could have set a new benchmark. My lack of interest is not on purpose. Tonight, he set a new benchmark. It’s obvious that he would have broken it the following week, in two weeks, or perhaps three weeks if not tonight. Simply put, he’s a fantastic player. Everyone will look back on his career and think, “Wow, we saw something really special,” and that’s how much we value him.
When asked if he thinks Salah has become’more of an all-round player’ during his time with the club…
I mean, duh. Without a doubt. At Roma, Mo played with [Edin] Dzeko and was known for his lightning quickness and ability to cut in from the flanks. Things like Dzeko controlling the ball or deflecting it while Mo was nearby. Here, he had new responsibilities from day one. In short, he adjusted splendidly. However, it was most likely Bobby [Firmino] who was the playmaker in the front row. A formation with two players slightly deeper is unnecessary and ineffective because goals are scored when players inside the box cross the goal line. We have another speedy guy up top now in Darwin Nunez, so things are a little different. That fundamentally altered Mo’s situation, but he’s savvy enough to adjust. There has been significant growth since he first arrived, but he was always a world-class talent at every stage.
Salah’s fortuitous playmaking and the maturation of strikers in their thirties.
He acts like a guy away from the field, although he’s just a young athlete. That’s how it is. This guy is in great shape. He keeps himself in such fantastic form that I suspect most of his bones would register as 19 or 20 on a bone density scan. No, it has nothing to do with strategy. We aim to provide such guidance to our younger athletes. So, by the time they retire at age 35, they have a wealth of knowledge about the game, but it is best to gain this knowledge as early as possible.
Even if he isn’t scoring, Mo is still a menace to the opposition, as he has a much better grasp of the court’s layout and an awareness of how defenders handle him. As I mentioned before, my performance against Everton certainly won’t be remembered fondly, but netting twice was a major accomplishment nonetheless. Playing well and not scoring but yet being a continuous danger is just as valuable to us in other games because it creates more opportunities for the other boys. You could be right, but I don’t think Mo is [30s] biologically, therefore I can’t compare him to other players his age.