Jurgen Klopp is set to ignore calls for Mohamed Salah to be deployed as a central striker after his rapid hat-trick in Liverpool's emphatic 7-1 triumph over Rangers.
Salah has cut a frustrated figure in recent weeks after struggling for form and started Wednesday night's Champions League clash on the bench. The Egyptian forward burst into life after being introduced as a substitute, though, and plundered a remarkable treble in just six second-half minutes to put the former Scottish champions to the sword.
The 30-year-old's sizzling second-half showing hinted at a return to form; Salah has been the embodiment of consistency for the Reds in recent years, but the former AS Roma man has been unable to replicate his previous goalscoring feats this term.
Salah's quickfire flurry came after he had replaced Reds new boy Darwin Nunez in midweek, leading some people to question whether Salah would - or should - be utilised in a more central role ahead of Sunday's huge Premier League showdown with Manchester City.
But Klopp has insisted that Salah's position against Rangers in relation to his goals was "nothing special" and that he can still have plenty of joy from his usual, wider role.
“In this game it was the change we made. Mo came on, Harvey stayed on the pitch and we didn’t change system,” Klopp insisted. “He can play that position, no doubt about that, but he can play the wider position as well. In moments when he finished the situations off, he was more central, that makes sense. But it was still his space, especially for two goals.
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“When he set up the goal for Harvey, which Diogo might have finished off already, then he was more flexible. That’s the flexibility we need in all offensive moments. It’s not so different. Whichever system we play, for finishing you need to be in and around the box, that’s how it is. He was there, definitely.
“I don’t think it had too much to do with the position. There were situations when we were in possession where Mo went to the right side, to his right wing. It’s completely normal. You need to be flexible, to need to fill up the spaces, you need to force the defensive players to react on different scenarios.
“It’s quite comfortable when you are always in the same space as an attacker, then the defender knows, ‘OK, when the ball is coming I’ll be there’. But if we are more flexible, it makes it immediately more difficult. That was really good in these moments, but I think two of the goals he scored were from his typical position. So, nothing special.”
