Who will seal top-four Premier League slot on final-day shootout?
Klopp hails goal-hungry Salah for dragging Liverpool single-handedly to brink of Champions League place
THOUGH Mo Salah’s goals helped Liverpool win the Premier League and Champions League, this season could rate as his finest personal achievement should Jurgen Klopp’s side complete their late surge into the top four.
It has been one crisis after another at Anfield this season, from longterm injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Jordan Henderson to the genuine tragedies of Jurgen Klopp losing his mother to Covid and the death of Alisson’s father by drowning.
On the pitch, Salah has often had to maintain Liverpool’s challenge single-handedly. He is the only player to have reached double figures for goals in the Premier League due to the inconsistency of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
The Egyptian’s tally of 22 goals puts him level with Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot and whoever finishes top will join Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer as the only three-time winners.
More importantly, Salah’s form has taken Liverpool to the brink of Champions League football again which looked unlikely after a 1-1 draw against Newcastle on April 24 left them five points behind Leicester with five games left compared with the Foxes’ six.
Having scored regularly all season, and contributed four assists, Salah has also emerged as a leader in the final few weeks. He was the first to jump on Alisson in celebration after the goalkeeper’s dramatic headed winner at West Brom.
Today, Liverpool will guarantee finishing in the top four if they beat Crystal Palace at Anfield and Leicester don’t win by at least five against Tottenham. Even then, Liverpool will make it if Chelsea fail to win at Aston Villa.
The mathematics won’t be necessary should Salah step up to the plate again.
‘For a striker to have those numbers in a team which is not flying constantly, it is absolutely exceptional,’ said a grateful Klopp.
‘It’s clear that Mo carries a lot even though we know the team also help him. It’s his desire and professionalism. It’s his greed as well which helps us completely.
‘This year is one of his best even if he scored more in another season. It’s easy to see where we would be without Mo’s goals. That’s what makes him really special.’
This term has been different for Klopp. Previously, everything he touched after arriving from Dortmund turned to gold. He took Liverpool to a Europa League final in his first campaign, Champions League finals in his next two and then ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait for the league title in 2020. It’s been far harder this time on and off the pitch. When his mother died in Germany, he was unable to attend the funeral.
‘It has been the most difficult year of my life,’ he admitted. ‘I never thought I would have to deal with the pandemic; not just for me personally, but for us all. I found that really difficult to deal with at times, to be honest. Football was part of it.
‘What did I learn? That sleep is overestimated. And am I a better manager? Better, I am not sure but much more experienced.
‘No day is like the one before, always new problems, always something else. There will be a time when I appreciate that but it will be in the future, not in the moment.’
Interestingly, Liverpool have not been mentioned in the list of clubs that would be involved in an auction for Kane. It’s a belief that owners FSG have been financially affected by the pandemic and if they are to one day make a statement signing, as they did with Van Dijk, the target would be PSG’s Kylian Mbappe.
Should all his injured players return next season, Klopp’s squad instantly looks stronger. But they are set to lose Gini Wijnaldum who is at the end of his contract after playing an important in Liverpool’s success over the last few years. ‘I am happy with my squad. Could it improve? Yes, like any squad. Is that affordable? I don’t know. Is it necessary? I don’t know,’ said Klopp diplomatically.
‘The most important thing is to be able to be a really uncomfortable opponent. We might not be the best team in the world at the start of the season but we want to again be the team nobody wants to play against because we are that good.
‘I really think it’s my responsibility to improve the team without signings.’