Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler jokingly told Mohamed Salah to “p*** off” after the Egyptian equalled his goals tally for the Reds.
Legendary former striker Fowler bagged 183 goals for the Reds across 369 first-team appearances – a return that Salah has equalled in 71 games fewer. The current Liverpool marksman bagged the winner in Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest.
That strike took Salah level with Fowler as the joint sixth highest goal scorer in the history of the Merseyside club and to within three goals of Steven Gerrard’s tally. The former Reds skipped bagged an eye-catching 186 goals in 710 outings and is fifth highest scorer in the club’s distinguished history.
Salah remains 163 goals shy of all-time club record scorer Ian Rush – who bagged a remarkable 346 goals across two spells at Anfield – and within 102 strikes of Roger Hunt, an icon of the 1960s in the red half of the city.
“I wish this @MoSalah chap would p*** off,” Fowler jokingly tweeted after the game on Saturday. “I'll have to get the boots back out if he carries on.”
Jota was key to Liverpool’s win over Forest, with his two goals making it four in two matches after he netted twice in the 6-1 thrashing of Leeds on Monday. The Portuguese forward scored both of his goals from set pieces but recognised the problem at the other end.
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"I think it was really important to win and follow up the last win,” he said. “It was a difficult game like we expected. We had to wait for that goal to arrive and they did come back twice which can happen, but it's something we need to look back at.
"Set pieces are very important and we know that they scored from them too. We need to improve defensively, but offensively we were almost perfect."
Jota won the praise of boss Klopp after the game, with his double proving decisive in the game prior to Salah getting involved in the act.
“With the second goal you really can see what goals do for offensive players, they give confidence. It was a super first touch and the finish was exceptional” purred Klopp.
“He could have had a third with a great chance in the first half. He’s so valuable for us and he deserves this after not scoring for so long.”
Next up for the Champions League-chasing Reds is a trip to West Ham on Tuesday before a crucial game in the race for the top four as they play host to Tottenham on 30 April.
