LONDON: Mohamed Salah will continue his record goalscoring form until the end of the season, according to his manager Jurgen Klopp.
The Egyptian star has scored 23 goals for Liverpool in all competitions since arriving at Anfield in the summer, equalling a club record set by Roger Hunt in 1961/62 for the most goals in a campaign before the turn of the year.
And despite a minor injury concern for the striker in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Leicester on Saturday, Klopp was full of praise for his player and said he could not envisage Salah’s form dropping in the second half of the season.
“Mo can keep that standard for sure. It’s not just about scoring only, it’s about other situations. He is so important for us,” he said. “He knows and I know he could not score without support of the other boys. But yes, I think he can keep the standard.”
Salah’s fine domestic form — 17 Premier League goals and six in the Champions League — has been mirrored on the international stage too. In 11 appearances for his country this year, he has notched five goals, including an injury-time penalty against Congo that sent the Pharaohs to their first World Cup since 1990.
Egypt’s head coach Hector Cuper has also praised Salah, tipping him to become a “great” and good enough to play for the very best teams. Cuper told Spanish newspaper Marca: “Without doubt he is the star of the team. Salah is a very good player who has the ability to play for Real Madrid.”
Salah, whose talent came into question during his torrid spell at Chelsea in 2014 amid criticism about his ability, has silenced any doubters after an outstanding first half of the season back in England. Since his time at Stamford Bridge, he has had successful stints at Italian sides Fiorentina and Roma, before joining Liverpool last year.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Salah said Klopp’s clear vision helped him settle at his new club. “At the beginning when I signed (for Liverpool) it was a bit different to Rome. But soon I knew what the coach wanted from me and the quality of players makes everything easier for me. From the first day I knew what I wanted to do and I scored goals in the pre-season, so I had a good start.”
And Salah is predicting a successful year for himself and his new club. “I am always saying I want to win titles here. I came here to win titles. To win something for the club, for us, for the fans. I would love to win something here. We are working hard every day to win something and I am sure we will this year,” he added.
Egypt star Mohamed Salah sets the standard at Liverpool
Egypt star Mohamed Salah sets the standard at Liverpool
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
