THE ROCKET MAN
The boy who left Chelsea has grown up to become...
When Mohamed salah’s former club head to Anfield on saturday they will find their boy has grown up.
‘he was a kid at chelsea,’ said a delighted Jurgen klopp after salah’s brace kick-started a routine thumping of a bang average southampton. ‘now he’s a man — that’s good.’ so good, that he has already scored nine Premier league goals this season in just 12 matches. not bad for a winger, not to mention chelsea reject.
In the programme they had a tribute to robbie Fowler. With his double, salah broke the striker’s record for the quickest goalscoring start in a red shirt. But klopp is not backing the egyptian to break more records.
‘If he continued at this rate he would finish the season on something like 70 goals, which isn’t really likely,’ the German said.
he is right. But there would appear to be no limit to the £38m summer signing’s potential. here, salah was almost unplayable.
With the saints rarely venturing outside their own half, it was a frustrating opening half an hour. however, roberto Firmino nicked the ball from dusan tadic and salah, with a delicious swipe of his left boot, curled the ball beyond Fraser Forster.
Ahead of the break, the 25-year- old was at it again, timing his run to perfection to collect Philippe coutinho’s defence-splitting pass before beating Forster for a second time. It was simple and effective. With Mauricio Pellegrino’s men in keep-the-scoredown mode, coutinho then rounded off the afternoon’s work when Forster bizarrely didn’t use his hands and chested Firmino’s shot into the Brazilian’s path.
they may have gone under the radar, but this is an important turnaround from liverpool after their thumping by tottenham. With coutinho, sadio Mane and salah back from injury, they appear to be on the straight and narrow.
While the much- criticised defence has been untested, there is an almost clockwork-like efficiency in their attacking.
In victories over huddersfield, West ham and now southampton, liverpool have scored 10 goals, conceding just one.
A big week awaits, first with the trip to sevilla tomorrow, where they can secure champions league progression, and then the visit of chelsea in saturday’s late kick-off.
Will salah have a point to prove against his former club?
‘It’s not like this,’ said klopp. ‘ he’s not like, ‘‘ I will show you the real Mo salah’’. he’s relaxed.’
klopp believes time in the gym, and time on the field at roma, is behind his improvement.
‘he was a kid when he came to chelsea, and in that time they were really successful,’ he said. ‘It was difficult to come through. he had a little bit less muscle, but his body shape is now different. he’s a man now.’ It left klopp musing on the dawning of a new age on the red half of Merseyside. ‘Firmino and Mane are working unbelievably hard, but they’re not scoring,’ he said. ‘But they will have their moments and we will talk about them. this is the Mo salah period.’ the gap between liverpool and Manchester city is 12 points. But klopp does not want that to cause consternation on the kop. ‘city are good. they’ve won pretty much all the games, but it’s not important for us. ‘ We are in a bunch of teams behind them, not around them. they are where we have to be,’ klopp added.