UGLY REDS PRETTY GOOD

MO SALAH has the mindset of a goalscoring killer – and that is why Jurgen Klopp will never order him to be less selfish.

The forward needs just one more goal to become the first-ever Liverpool striker to record 20 or more for three different Premier League seasons.

He is also just three goals behind Jamie Vardy in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Boot, as he aims to win the prize for a third consecutive season – a feat only achieved by Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry.

Salah, though, has been criticised at times for being greedy, an accusation that surfaced at Burnley earlier in the season when an angry

Sadio Mane seemed to express his disgust at his team-mate for selfishness. As they face the Clarets again though, boss Klopp says any rivalry between the pair is healthy and important for the team.

“I’m not sure it’s a competition but it’s healthy. They want to score goals and that’s completely normal,” he said.

“Mo now, of course, come on. The numbers are absolutely crazy! Involved in 100 goals since he is here, 73 goals and 27 assists, it’s just outstanding, world-class numbers. “We would not be where we are if these boys didn’t perform at that level. They all want to score goals. They want to be decisive, to decide football games. That’s the mindset a striker needs.”

1. Vardy ................. 22

2. Aubameyang ...20

3. Ings ..................... 19

3. Salah ................... 19

5. Aguero ............... 16

SEAN DYCHE reckons he has paid Liverpool the biggest compliment possible by saying they can win ugly. Dyche’s Burnley face the champions at Anfield today and he loves the Reds’ ability to grind out results when below their best.

The Clarets boss says this has been key to the recordbreaking title success of Jurgen Klopp’s team.

“They can win ugly and that’s probably the biggest positive I have ever given a manager,” said Dyche

(right). “He knows, I know, all the managers know, the ugly games, the tight ones, the ones when you’re not on song, they’re the ones that win things.

“Because it’s hard over a 38-game Premier League season even when you are Liverpool or Manchester City, Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham... it’s hard to deliver week in, week out and stay at those really high performance levels.

“When you’re not at those high performance levels, can you find a way to win?

“That’s been the biggest difference in Liverpool this

Salah’s stats since arriving at Anfield have ripped up the history books. If he wins the Golden Boot for a third year running, he will join Shearer, Henry and Jimmy Greaves as the only players in top-flight history to achieve that record.

And Klopp says that will help, not hinder his side as they look to break more records in their title-winning season. “If we provide the winner of the Golden Boot then that means we have scored a lot of goals, so that helps as well.

“I am not in doubt about it, my players don’t need individual targets to be the highest motivated. But they don’t disturb the team and they are rather helpful.

“If it would be different, I would tell them that it is not OK. But in the end, it is always first and foremost about winning a football game and not the other stuff, but it is nice when you can do both.” season. They’ve found a way to win when it’s been those awkward games and the big games too.

“I think they’re a blended team that can win in different ways and that’s a compliment and a sign of respect because I think they have done that fantastically well.”

Burnley can also break a record – six points from their remaining four games would beat their

Premier

League best of 54 set two years ago.