Salah closing in on Messi comparisons, says Klopp
london — Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is on his way to reaching the elite level of Lionel Messi but has no interest in being compared to the prodigious Barcelona striker, manager Juergen Klopp has said.
Salah, 25, struck four goals in Liverpool’s 5-0 rout of Watford that lifted them back into third place in the Premier League .“Each game we try to win the three points, but every game I want to score and help the team,” said Salah.
The Egypt international moved to 28 league goals, four goals clear of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot. He has 36 in all competitions this season, the most by a Liverpool player in a debut campaign for BARCELONA — Admitting that he has now become less selfish with age, star Barcelona forward said he has evolved into more of a team player. “Before, I used to try to steal the ball and make something happen on my own — or at least try to do something on my own,” Messi told
“Now, I try to make the team the club. Asked about the similarities in Salah and Messi’s style of play, Klopp said: “Mo is on the way, that’s good. I don’t think that Mo or anybody else wants to be compared play more. I pass the ball more and I try not to be so selfish, if you will. I try to move the team from one position to another. I still run as much as ever, just in a different way.”
Messi, 30, racked up 100 Champions League goals and is Spanish La Liga’s top scorer with 24 goals.— with Lionel Messi. He (Messi) has been doing what he’s been doing for what feels like 20 years or so... the last player I know who had the same influence on a team performance was Diego Maradona.”
The last player to score four goals in a Liverpool shirt was Messi’s current strike partner at Barcelona Luis Suarez. The Uruguay international netted a first-half hat-trick before adding another after the break in a 5-1 league victory over Norwich City in 2013.
“Mo is on a fantastic way... but how it always is in life, if you have the skills then you have to show it constantly,” Klopp added. “His consistency is good for us. He helps us a lot, the boys love playing with him, he loves playing with them.”
Liverpool moved to 63 points from 31 games, two behind secondplaced Manchester United who have a game in hand. —