The rivalry that really fires Klopp
Not him and Lampard, but Salah and Mane up front!
MO SALAH will make history if he follows up his hat- trick against Leeds with another at Stamford Bridge today and reaches a hundred Liverpool goals faster than anyone since World Cup winner Roger Hunt.
‘Don’t tell Frank Lampard that,’ guffawed Reds manager Jurgen Klopp who isn’t one for chatting about individual statistics but still prefers it to transfer speculation.
Though Virgil van Dijk and Alisson tightened up his defence, Salah is still Klopp’s most important signing. His 44 goals in 2017/18 was a world-class statement of intent but even more impressive is how he’s continued; winning the Champions League, Premier League and two Premier League Golden Boots.
He has 11 games to reach the 100milestone quicker than Robbie Fowler, and a dozen before Ian Rush, who have the best ratios since Hunt. But the Egyptian King would love to finish the job in 90 minutes against Chelsea, his first English club where he struggled and scored only twice in 19 games.
While it’s a long shot, it’s possible if he performs like he did against Leeds. His hat-trick contained two penalties and a blistering half-volley but it was his dazzling overall performance that caught the eye.
‘You need a specific personality to invest so much in your career,’ says Klopp in admiration.
‘When you score more than 40 goals in your first season, quite a few players would say that was nice and now let’s think about other things to make other parts of life even more beautiful. He is the opposite. He stayed greedy. He works his socks off in training.
‘All players do what you tell them but it’s about how important you see it yourself and that gives you a completely different mindset.
‘You want to be on top of your own potential and that’s what he wants. The numbers are just incredible. If you saw him against Leeds, it was a t hree- goal performance, even more. And he knows the team help him be the player he can be.’
The consistency of the front three of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino has been remarkable, hardly ever missing games.
The rivalry between Mane and Salah has been evident at times but Klopp insists Liverpool’s success comes from players being motivated by each other’s displays.
Right now is Salah’s moment. Last season, Mane got all the praise. As a manager, it is Klopp’s job to ensure they are all appreciated.
‘Last year people were saying, “Sadio Mane what a player he is” but he didn’t score three goals in the first game and now people put one in the limelight and forget the other one. But we (Liverpool) are not like this,’ he explains. ‘ The story this team wrote together is that they constantly push each o t her but t hei r a ppreci a t i o n between each other couldn’t be bigger. They like playing together.’
Today’s game has many sub-plots besides being the ultimate earlyseason tester for both clubs.
Lampard and Klopp have previously clashed on the touchline and recently exchanged views on how their clubs do transfer business.
Chelsea beat Liverpool for German international forward Timo Werner though Klopp has since enlisted world- class midfielder Thiago Alcantara — who is eligible for today — from Bayern Munich and Diogo Jota from Wolves.
‘It is 100 per cent clear Chelsea will close gaps,’ said Klopp. ‘The transfers show their ambition.’
After Chelsea, Liverpool face Arsenal and Klopp admits his immediate reaction to the fixtures was to wonder what he had done to deserve such a difficult opening.
‘You think, “someone has an idea”. Give us Leeds then send us to Chelsea then bring on Arsenal! But each Premier League is difficult. Can you name the teams which would allow us to slide nicely into the new season? I don’t see them.’