Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has hit out at the treatment of Mohamed Salah during the penalty shootout with Egypt. The Reds forward missed a spot-kick against Senegal earlier this week as his country failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup, but the 29-year-old appeared to have lasers shone in his face before he took his penalty.
Sadio Mane and Senegal qualified for the competition, which is being held in Qatar, with the Liverpool star scoring the decisive penalty against Egypt, just as he did to see his county win the Africa Cup of Nations. The pair are now back on Merseyside and ready for the hectic fixture run-in.
The Reds are back in Premier League action this weekend against Watford, hosting the Hornets at Anfield in the Saturday early kick-off. Should Liverpool win, they will temporarily move above Manchester City to top spot in the league table before their rivals play Burnley a couple of hours later.
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Klopp says that he has mixed emotions following Salah and Mane’s involvement in the World Cup qualifier. But the Reds boss expects the pair to deal with their respective emotions “in the right way.”
“I’m, obviously, really happy for Sadio that he could make it, and I’m really disappointed and feel for Mo. I don’t think the situation around the penalty and the lasers was particularly cool, that’s clear as well.
“I feel for him, but I’m happy for Sadio as well. That’s football, we are used to this all of the time.
“It’s different when two mates in such a big game play against each other, but they are both top professionals and very emotional people. But I’m sure they will deal with it in the right way.
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Klopp added: “There is no doubt at the moment that Senegal is probably the best team in Africa. Egypt did really well, they took it to the wire and twice in a penalty shootout, that’s as close as you can get in a game.
“Senegal has an extremely talented squad, and Egypt did really well. I’m not sure they will see it like this, but in my opinion they should because you cannot get closer than they did.
“They were a bit unlucky with the draw, against pretty much all other teams Egypt would have qualified for the World Cup, but because it was Senegal again it was not enough.”
