SALAH DESTINED FOR THE TOP, SAYS KLOPP

LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp believes comparisons between Mohamed Salah and Barcelona’s five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi are premature, but said the Egyptian was on his way to one day becoming the best in the world.

Salah’s stunning season continued with a four-goal haul in a 5-0 thrashing of Watford at Anfield to take his tally for the season to 36 on Saturday – the most goals ever scored by a Liverpool player in their debut year.

Messi showed why he was still widely considered the world’s best by scoring his 100th Champions’ League goal in tearing Chelsea apart in a 3-0 win on Wednesday.

But Klopp believes Salah, 25, has time on his side to succeed Messi and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo, both now in their thirties, as the world’s best player.

“I think Mo is on the way [to being the best in the world].”

Klopp challenged Salah to maintain the standards he had set this season in the manner Messi and Ronaldo had for the past decade.

“As it always is in life, if you have the skills, you have to show that constantly, and consistently he is very good and he helps us a lot.”

Salah even defied the slippery conditions of a snow storm as he weaved his way past Jose Holebas to slot home the opener after just four minutes.

Two minutes before half time, Salah got his second chance of the evening from Andy Robertson’s inch-perfect cross.

Watford have now lost nine and drawn one of their last 10 away games.

Salah turned provider immediately after the break when his cross was wonderfully backheeled past Karnezis by Roberto Firmino.

The Egyptian made it 4-0 with 13 minutes remaining as, despite falling over, he managed to slide the ball past Karnezis.

And he then capped off a brilliant personal performance in the dying seconds, thrashing into the roof of the net after Karnezis had fumbled Danny Ings’s shot.

Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho launched an astonishing verbal tirade against his Manchester United players after they reached the FA Cup semifinals, accusing them of “a lack of personality, class and desire”.

After a comfortable 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Brighton, he said: “I am not happy with the performance at all.” – AFP