Liverpool must ease scoring burden on Salah, says Milner
>> NEW YORK: Mohamed Salah is capable of delivering another season chock full of goals at Liverpool but his supporting cast must pick up the slack to ease the burden on the Egyptian forward, midfielder James Milner has said.
Salah scored 44 goals in 52 games for Liverpool as they reached the Champions League final and finished fourth in the Premier League.
He also scored in Liverpool’s 2-1 win against Manchester City in the International Champions Cup (ICC) in midweek.
“He is more than capable of doing that. There is pressure when you have had one good year to deliver again but he is a top player. He’s going to keep on improving,” Milner told reporters.
“We need to keep improving as a side with him as well, and make sure that all the pressure is not on his shoulders to deliver goals and get us out of tough situations.”
Apart from the departed Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane were the only other Liverpool players to surpass the 10-goal mark last season with 27 and 20 goals.
Liverpool continue their ICC campaign against Manchester United today.
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Luke Shaw believes he has a body type similar to that of the club’s former striker Wayne Rooney and said criticism of his body and conditioning was unwarranted.
Shaw has been criticised on multiple occasions by United boss Jose Mourinho and his predecessor Louis van Gaal over perceived weight and fitness issues, with fans and pundits also piling on.
“Of course people can say I’m fat, but I know my own body,” Shaw told British media. “I always look big because I’m bigger built and I have, you could say, a Wayne Rooney type of body.”
Despite Mourinho’s public criticism of Shaw, the England international said the Portuguese manager texted him in the off-season to spur him on.
“It was a breath of fresh air when he texted me,” he added. “I wasn’t expecting it... I spoke to him and it was really positive. It made me feel confident about the upcoming season.”