Salah given a run-out to blank looks
SAY what you want about Jurgen Klopp but he does not do convention. Which other manager would have risked his team’s crown jewel in the last throes of a game of no consequence?
Porto at Anfield was never going to be Liverpool’s biggest collision in March. No. That label had long belonged to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday — the shootout most likely to determine which of the Reds will finish best of the rest.
Here was a chance, then, for Klopp to give Mohamed Salah the night off, get him cherry ripe to run at Manchester United’s defence, never mind running at a Porto team resigned to elimination from the Champions League.
All seemed to be going to plan. Salah was on the bench and for 74 minutes he had been a s p e c t a t o r. S u d d e n l y, K l o p p turned to his right and invited his No 11 into the action.
It was a decision gleefully received by the crowd and a decision Klopp always intended to make.
‘Everybody thinks about the possibility of injuries and that can happen,’ said Klopp. ‘It was clear that we’d give him the last 20 minutes. I told him if he runs a lot, then he doesn’t have to train! I thought he was quite lively.’
In a game of little excitement, Salah’s cameo created some. His first touch, cushioning a high ball, was exquisite and another cross created a glorious opening that fellow substitute Danny Ings couldn’t convert.
This is likely to be his last cameo of the season. Salah will be at the tip of Liverpool’s attacking trident from now on, at Old Trafford on Saturday and when his club play in the quarter-final of this competition for the first time since 2009.
‘I cannot feel what people feel when they wait so long but it feels good, I know that,’ said Klopp. ‘Last eight is cool. It was time we showed up again. Good development at Liverpool. We made that step.’
During that campaign nine years ago, Liverpool obliterated Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield. Iker Casillas was in goal and, given Klopp’s side scored five in Oporto, many might have expected the Spain legend to be on the end of a similar score last night.
Casillas will leave Porto when his contract expires in the summer and, given that he will be 37 in May, it remains to be seen whether another elite club will offer an opportunity. If this was to be the end, he wanted one final clean sheet and was not hard pressed to register it.
Come half-time, the thoughts of many within the stadium had begun to drift to Saturday.
This particular European adventure, however, shows no sign of stopping and Liverpool remain dark horses to win the competition.
Klopp had the look of man who knew it.
‘We have a chance to go through to semi,’ said Klopp. ‘But take it step by step, its cool. We had this year the opportunity. Now we are in, so I think we are in time.’
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Karius; Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Moreno; Can (Klavan 80), Henderson, Milner; Lallana, Firmino (Ings 62), Mane (Salah 74). Subs not used: Mignolet, Van Dijk, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexander-Arnold. Booked: Henderson.
PORTO (4-2-4): Casillas: Pereira, Felipe, Reyes, Dalot; Torres, Andre (Oliveira 62); Costa, Aboubakar (Paciencia 80), Waris (Ricardo 68), Corona. Subs not used: Sa, Brahimi, Otavio, Mata. Booked: Andre, Dalotr. Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany). Attendance: 48,768.