Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made a surprising revelation following his team’s resounding 6-1 victory over Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday night, admitting he instructed star forward Mohamed Salah to do something he’d never asked before.
Salah, making his first start for Liverpool since recovering from an injury sustained during the Africa Cup of Nations, made history by becoming the first player in the club’s history to score 20 or more goals in seven consecutive seasons across all competitions.
However, Klopp revealed post-match that he had instructed Salah to ease off on his defensive duties in the second half, after Bobby Clark’s ankle injury robbed the Egyptian of the opportunity to rest for the final 20 minutes.
“Mo is a very experienced player,” Klopp explained to TNT Sports. “I think it was the first time I have told any player ‘just stop defending’. That’s how it is; just don’t run in that direction anymore.”
COMMANDING WIN
The Reds put on a commanding display at Anfield, with the result all but secured following their 5-1 triumph in the first leg. However, they didn’t take their foot off the gas, scoring six goals in a blistering performance.
Liverpool’s attacking trio of Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez all found the net early on, with academy graduate Bobby Clark also getting on the scoresheet for the first time in his senior career.
After Veljko Birmancevic got a goal back for the visitors just before half time, the goals continued to come for Liverpool.
Dominik Szoboszlai made it five just after half-time, followed by Cody Gakpo’s second of the game.
Then, with the game truly wrapped up, and Salah following these unconventional instructions, the forward nonetheless remained influential, almost creating another goal opportunity for his teammates.
“He nearly set up a wonderful goal, but Cody was offside,” Klopp added. “But yeah, he [Salah] is very experienced, he got easily over the line.”
