When Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah arrived from AS Roma in the summer the Reds knew he could score, but no one quite expected him to be quite as prolific as he’s been. It’s only the tail end of February and the Egyptian has already bagged a solid 30-goals in all competitions — a feat helped along by the influence of Jurgen Klopp.
“With the boss here, I play a little bit closer to the goal, more so than at any other club or more than any of my other coaches have asked me to,” Salah told the club’s official match-day program. “So I am always in front of the goal to give me the opportunity to score. The manager is always telling me to stay close to the goal in training,” explained the 25-year old. “I don’t want to say too much because we still have a long way to go in the season and I don’t want to give too much away. But yes, it’s something we have worked on in the training sessions.”
After dismantling FC Porto in the Champions League, the club took advantage of a rare ten day gap between matches to have a bit of a mid-season break in Spain. Spending a few days training in Marbella, the boys got away from the cruel English winter and took up the chance to recharge their batteries in the sunshine.
Back at it at the weekend, the Reds will play host to West Ham United as they look to not only build on the win in Portugal, but further solidify their place in the top four of the Premier League. Putting five past Porto, the Anfield outfit looked as dangerous as ever in front of the net, but a hat-trick for Sadio Mane was the real highlight of the trip to Portugal — a sign that the Senegalese attacker is getting back to his best.
“If you are convinced that it will come back then leave him. As long as he trains well, I’m used to it. I take what I get. They are human beings not machines, and their form (can) drop,” explained Klopp when asked about Mane’s struggles this season. “If I’m angry all the time if somebody doesn’t perform like I expect, it’s not good for both – I could never be happy and the player is constantly in a situation where he feels under pressure, not only from me but from me as well,” continued the German manager. “(It’s about) creating a situation where the player still feels comfortable and then go from there. If there’s no doubt about character, attitude and work-rate, you have to wait a little bit for it and then it will happen again.”
