SALAH IS MOJESTIC
Mo Salah’s super strike helped power Liverpool into the last 16 of the Champions League while Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Lille made it a brilliant double for the English clubs:
JURGEN KLOPP hailed Mohamed Salah’s mental resilience after his decisive goal sent Liverpool surging into the last 16.
The Egyptian had a number of chances to give his side breathing space against an impressive RB Salzburg team in an absorbing first half but fluffed them all, before squandering a clear opening within three minutes of the restart.
None of those failures preyed on his mind as Salah took the most difficult chance of all, latching on to Jordan Henderson’s through ball before rounding goalkeeper Cican Stankovic and firing in from the narrowest of angles at the byeline.
‘It was, for sure, the most difficult situation he had,’ marvelled Klopp, having watched Naby Keita score the opener just a minute before. ‘He (Salah) played really well but didn’t score in the situations we expect him to score. But the difficult finish says probably much more about him than all the other goals he’s scored.
‘He stayed concentrated, believes in the next moment and it was a sensational finish.’
This was perhaps Liverpool’s most professional performance of the campaign, the tone set within 17 seconds when Virgil van Dijk shoulder-charged Erling Haaland out of the way to stop an attack.
It was also the first time since September they have had back-toback clean sheets and Klopp, whose side will now enjoy home advantage in the second leg of the last 16 by virtue of winning Group E, felt it was close to a perfect night.
‘You see how good Salzburg are, how good they were in the first game at Anfield, how good they were against Napoli,’ he said. ‘We came here as the current Champions League winners and I really loved that my team was so smart, that they listen, and put a shift in like that. Salzburg were unbelievably strong, especially in the first half, but we were ready for the fight. It’s not easy to keep that intensity.’
This was no routine win in Austria. Until the goals in the 57th and 58th minutes separated the sides,
Liverpool had to work hard for the three points. The one-two combination left Salzburg stunned and needing to score three in 32 minutes to progress. They were never going to get that, so Liverpool were comfortable by the end.
But Jesse Marsch, Salzburg’s coach, has schooled a promising team. Even if the rashness of keeper Stankovic cost them, twice. The first rush of blood came after a ball from Andy Robertson to Sadio Mane on the left. The forward escaped the attention of defender Jerome Onguene and showed just enough of the ball for Stankovic to think he had a chance. He came charging out and Mane beat him, crossing for Keita to head into an unguarded net.
Within a minute, Henderson played a fine ball over the top, Salah lost Onguene and Stankovic was on the charge again, left floundering by Salah’s quick feet and powerless as he nailed the tightest angle to put the ball in at the far post. Game over.
Salzburg’s South Korean forward Hee-Chan Hwang had been unfortunate not to win a penalty when his shot looked to have struck Henderson’s arm in the early stages. The ball bounced loose to Takumi Minamino, a lively Japanese forward, who forced an excellent save from Alisson.
RB SALZBURG 0 LIVERPOOL 2 Keita 57, Salah 58
While Liverpool grew steadily into the game and created chances of their own, the danger from Salzburg was never far away. After 24 minutes Haaland’s break on the left forced another strong stop from Alisson. In this period, the home side’s moves were breaking down due to the sheer speed at which they were attempted.
Van Dijk was also repelling them in one of his most impressive performances of the season. Anything less and Liverpool could have been in trouble.
Yet such vigorous attacking play leaves gaps and there are few better than Liverpool at exploiting them.
In the fifth minute Dejan Lovren played a trademark ball over the top, which troubled Maximilian Wober and almost let Salah in on goal. It needed a good save from Stankovic to keep him out.
Mane went close with two shots — one missed, the other saved — before Salah missed the best chance of the half. Henderson played a lovely ball to Keita, who fed Salah at the far post, but he steered the ball wide from close range.
He did much the same after halftime, on this occasion put through by Mane, but shooting over. A minute later, he looked to have taken the ball around Stankovic only for the keeper to reach out a mighty paw and claw it away.
But he and Keita then had their say.
RED BULL SALZBURG (4-4-2): Stankovic; Nissen, Onguene, Wober, Ulmer; Junuzovic (Daka 68), Mwepu, Szoboszlai (Ashimeru 90), Minamino; Hwang, Haaland (Masaye Okugawa 75). Subs not used: Vallci, Prevljak, Ramalho, Coronel. Booked: None.
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson; AlexanderArnold, Lovren (Gomez 53), Van Dijk, Robertson; Keita (Origi 87), Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino (Milner 75), Mane. Subs not used: Adrian, OxladeChamberlain, Shaqiri, Jones. Booked: Mane.
Man of the match: Virgil van Dijk. Referee: Danny Makkelie (Holland). Attendance: 29,520.