Jurgen Klopp appears to have decided against taking penalty duties away from Mohamed Salah - despite hinting that he was leaning towards doing so earlier this month.
Salah has led by example again for the Reds this term, notching 28 goals and registering 11 assists in all competitions, but he's struggled from the spot in recent weeks.
He missed from 12 yards in Liverpool's shock 1-0 loss to Bournemouth at the end of March before spurning another spot-kick in the enthralling 2-2 draw against Arsenal just a fortnight later. And Klopp's comments after that match fuelled speculation that the Reds chief could strip Salah of his spot-kick responsibilities.
Speaking after Salah's miss against the Gunners earlier this month, Klopp said: "I only saw the penalty after the game. A few people in the crowd reacted, so when you don’t see the penalty, you react to what the people see and a few people obviously thought the ball was in but it wasn’t.
"He missed the goal. So that’s why for a second the fist, and then I realised, ‘Oh, Mo isn’t celebrating.’ And then I realised the ball wasn’t it. That’s it." The Reds chief then admitted that Salah's recent record from the spot was a concern and that he was considering taking penalty duties away from him, adding: "That’s something we will talk about but not here."
But when Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the 15th minute of their match against Tottenham on Sunday, it was Salah who stepped up once again; only this time, he coolly dispatched his penalty beyond the despairing Fraser Forster.
And after getting back on target from the spot against Spurs, it's hard to see Klopp stripping the Liverpool talisman of penalty duties after sticking with him up until now.
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Salah's clinical penalty compounded a miserable quarter of an hour for Tottenham, who capitulated in the opening stages of an away match for the second week in a row after shipping five first-half goals in last weekend's chastening 6-1 defeat against Newcastle.
Curtis Jones broke the deadlock after just three minutes with a smart finish following a pinpoint cross into the box by Trent Alexander-Arnold before Luis Diaz doubled that advantage just two minutes later to mark his return from injury in style.
Tottenham did hit back through Harry Kane just before the interval to give the visitors hope ahead of the second half. And it seemed as though the Londoners, led by interim head coach Ryan Mason, could pinch an unlikely point when Son Heung-min and Richarlison scored late in the second half.
But Diogo Jota hit back instantly to ensure the Reds would claim a priceless victory in their bid to secure European football next year.
