Jurgen Klopp has defended Mohamed Salah after the Liverpool top scorer’s uncharacteristically wasteful display against Brighton.
Salah missed several chances either side of half-time in a thrilling Premier League showdown at Anfield on Easter Sunday, denied by a combination of unusually profligate finishing and a couple of strong saves from Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
However, even in spite of those rare struggles, the Egyptian superstar still managed to fire what proved to be the winning goal into the bottom corner after 65 minutes following a fine assist by ex-Seagulls midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, with Luis Diaz having earlier hit back to answer Danny Welbeck’s 87-second opener on Merseyside.
Salah’s decisive intervention sent Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League table before title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal played out a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium, with their latest comeback from behind the perfect answer to an agonising FA Cup quarter-final exit against Manchester United before the international break.
Salah is now up to 22 goals for the season for Liverpool across all competitions, only eight shy of his total for last term despite time spent on the sidelines with a hamstring injury suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Only Erling Haaland (18) has scored more times in the Premier League in this campaign than Salah, who is currently tied on 16 with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins in the Golden Boot race, with Reds boss Klopp insisting that he has no concerns over his lack of ruthlessness against Brighton.
"Imagine Mo would have finished off all the situations in his career? That would be crazy, so it is absolutely fine," said Klopp.
"We need him to try. Mo, like the others, was a bit in a rush to finish off situations and didn't do like they can do it.
"But then being that calm in the decisive moment with the biggest chance we had from the best football we played, then that makes a real goalscorer so we are happy with everything.
"Darwin (Nunez) opened up so many spaces, Lucho (Diaz) was incredible, they were all really good today.
"Their centre-halves were outstanding and it was just a really good game today, against an opponent you know it will be the hardest work.
"To defend them needs the highest intensity in English football and we did well.
"It was, from my point of view, the best performance against Roberto's Brighton. More possession, better possession, a really good rhythm in the game."
