Rampant Reds leave door ajar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Manager Klopp shrugs off late Roma goals after Salah inspires a perfect Liverpool performance
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s manager Juergen Klopp refused to dwell on the two late goals they conceded in a 5-2 win over AS Roma in their Champions League semifinal, first leg on Tuesday, saying his team had been “perfect” for 80 minutes.
“Of course, we would have been more happy with 5-0 or 5-1 but 5-2 is a fantastic result. We go there and try again,” said the German coach after Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino claimed two goals each against the shell-shocked Italians.
“The boys played a brilliant game over a very long period. Even the last minutes when we conceded. We made one mistake and the ref made one mistake (awarding a penalty) and that was two goals for them.
“We have to work again in Rome, that is no problem. There would have been work to do if we had won 5-0. Roma would have tried everything anyway,” he said.
Salah scored two superbly taken goals to take his season tally in all competitions to 43 and his Champions League total to 10 for the season -- a club record for a Liverpool player in a single European campaign.
Klopp was clearly impressed by the Egyptian’s finishing, which saw him open the scoring with a beautiful curling left-foot shot into the top corner and then double the advantage with a perfectly executed lift over advancing keeper Alisson.
“The first goal is just a genius strike, he scored already a few like this, so that makes clear it is no coincidence,” he told reporters.
“The second is brilliant play, Bobby (Firmino) between the lines and he (Salah) makes the play. Then he makes the other two goals,” added Klopp, referring to Salah’s assists for Sadio Mane and Firmino after the break.
The former Dortmund manager did not regret taking his talismanic striker Salah off in the 75th minute with Liverpool 5-0 ahead, saying he wanted to protect the PFA Player of the Year from possible injury. against Roma highlighted his comparisons to another left-footed genius -- Lionel Messi. His balance and Liverpool’s lead with a deft chip to beat an advancing Alisson after Roberto Firmino had played him through just before
of missing two great opportunities in the first half but Salah provided the Senegalese forward with a chance to redeem himself with a brilliant ball across the area, which in all commpetitions thhis season, making him the second highest sscorer for Lliverpool in a single season. He is now just four goals shyy of Ian Rush’srushs 47 goal hhaul in 1983/84 -- the highest- low center of gravity came to the fore when he cut in from the right and floated a perfect left-foot shot into the far corner past a helpless Alisson. half-time. The Egyptian maestro played a controlled pass to Roberto Firmino right at the half-way line before racing through the middle to get onto the Brazilian’s brilliant through pass. Mane buried into the back of the net to make it 3-0 for the Reds. Salah then danced past Juan Jesus and played a similar low cross into the path of Firmino, who made no mistake to make it 4-0. scoring player for Liverpool – with at least four more games to go
the Premier League’s goal-scoring record with 31 goals this campaign and will be looking to break it when Liverpool host Stoke City on Saturday. He is also the top-scorer in Europe’s top-five leagues.
seemed done and dusted, Roma pulled back two goals in the last 10 minutes to give themselves a fighting chance when the two sides meet in Rome in seven days’ time. Roma will hope to do to Liverpool what they did to Barcelona - score three unanswered goals to progress on away goals. Roma have advanced from all the knockout ties (round of 16 v Shakhtar Donetsk and quarterfinals v Barcelona) this season on the basis of away goals advantage. a goal back for Roma nine minutes from the end after he collected a wonderful floated pass from Radja Nainggolan and drove past Loris Karius. The Bosnian has been key to Roma’s success in Europe this season having scored two vital goals against Barcelona over both quarterfinal legs.