Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp
- Salah rebounds from penalty miss with 2 goals.
- Klopp was unfazed by Salah’s miss.
- Salah explains the shoe switch as a mental boost.
Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, was not taken aback by Mohamed Salah’s comeback following his Monday night penalty miss against Newcastle United.
Liverpool, the league leaders, now lead the Premier League by three points after a 4-2 victory over Newcastle, which saw two goals from Salah.
After failing to score from the spot in a goalless first half, Salah changed his shoes at halftime and went on to break the tie with a goal in the 49th and an additional goal in the 86th to make it 151 goals in the Premier League at Liverpool.
“We should not be really surprised that Mo can change a game, can improve in the game, because he did it hundreds of times,” Klopp told reporters.
“But it’s just a really good example. The more goals you have, the more you’re used to missing chances and the more you just understand what you have to do keep going and if necessary keep improving, using the situations better, and that’s what Mo did.”
This month, Salah and Erling Haaland of Manchester City will team up for Egypt’s African Cup of Nations campaign. Salah now shares the league lead in goals scored with Haaland.
“It’s not superstitious because I play with many boots. But when I feel it’s going to play with my head, okay, out, change the boots,” Salah said.
On a stormy and rainy evening at Anfield, Liverpool thrashed Newcastle, scoring 35 shots to the visitors’ five, with 15 of those shots finding the target.
“I didn’t have to look at the stats, because I saw it. It was really special,” Klopp said. “It was (partly keeper Martin) Dubravka.
“We didn’t stop, that’s the most important thing.”
Just a few weeks after criticizing the Anfield audience for two unusually quiet games, the German expressed nothing but gratitude to the supporters who endured the windy conditions on Monday.
“Tonight the atmosphere was absolutely exceptional in how we all took together, these missed chances,” Klopp said. “It was not like ‘Oh my god, what are they doing?’ and I would understand that in moments, but everybody was just really on fire and we go again, we go again, we go again and we did.
“So, super game from start to finish, super high intensity.”
After the game, as the crowd were clapping, the coach lost his wedding band on the field, which caused him to get a little anxious. He took a few moments to walk backwards before he saw the ring and gave it a kiss while grinning at the TV camera.
“That would have been really awful,” said a relieved Klopp. “I lost it in the sea once and needed a professional diver. I had a massive shock but it’s back.”
