LONDON: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is relaxed about Mohamed Salah’s goalscoring drought, saying the Egyptian forward remains a key part of the title chasers’ attacking armory.
Salah, who scored 44 times in his maiden season at Anfield, has gone eight matches without finding the net but still has 20 goals in 2018/19 and played a pivotal part in the last-gasp winner against Tottenham on Sunday.
“When everybody is talking about ‘he didn’t score in I don’t know how many games’, he doesn’t seem to be bothered about it. I’m not,” Klopp said on Wednesday.
“For sure we didn’t really speak about it. I think if something is clear and obvious you do speak about it. How do you deal with a situation when he scored 40 goals last year?
“His career’s not over. It’s like if he can score this year 20 goals then he’s scored 60 in the last two. Wow, that’s not too bad.”
Salah’s success last season means he has attracted more attention from opponents in the current campaign, often being double-marked.
It has had the effect, though, of benefiting teammates, with Sadio Mane (20 goals) and Roberto Firmino (14) taking on some of the burden.
“Sometimes you need a bit of time to adapt to the new situations and I don’t think he really needed that,” said Klopp on Salah’s overall value to the side and how he has coped with the close attention.
“He’s a threat. He helps us a lot. He deals with all the new situations for him really well.
“If you have only one (goalscorer), you think maybe you rely a bit too much on that. This year we don’t rely on Mo’s goals, but he’s still in a very good position in comparison to all the other players.
“Seventeen (league) goals is a good number, and there are still a lot of games to come. But it was never a problem. We have 79 points — you cannot have that with a lot of problems over the year.”
Liverpool travel to Southampton on Friday and Klopp reported a clean bill of health after a minor injury worry over defender Virgil van Dijk following the win over Tottenham.
Jurgen Klopp relaxed about Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool goal drought
Jurgen Klopp relaxed about Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool goal drought
- Salah, who scored 44 times in his maiden season at Anfield, has gone eight matches without finding the net
- Salah’s success last season means he has attracted more attention from opponents
Race to Dubai leader Schaper chases third consecutive victory at Dubai Invitational
- Schaper joins a field that includes defending champion Tommy Fleetwood and 5-time Major champion Rory McIlroy
DUBAI: Race to Dubai leader Jayden Schaper will look to maintain his sensational early-season form when he competes at the Dubai Invitational from Jan. 15 to 18.
The 24-year-old South African is riding high after a spectacular Opening Swing that yielded back-to-back victories and propelled him to the summit of the 2026 rankings.
Schaper’s breakthrough came at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on home soil, where he captured his maiden DP World Tour title in a thrilling play-off victory over defending champion Shaun Norris.
A chip-in birdie at the 16th and an eagle at the first extra hole sealed a memorable win that ended years of knocking on the door.
Just one week later, he demonstrated remarkable composure to defend his play-off crown at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, holing out for eagle on the second extra hole to defeat American Ryan Gerard.
“Obviously I had such a good finish to the year in 2025 — having a win back home with the family watching and then going down to Mauritius and having just another incredible week,” said Schaper.
“I’m just looking forward to the start of this run now, as the Desert Swing is always one of my favorites of the year. The weather is good and the golf courses are always perfect — it’s such an awesome place to be.”
Across three appearances during the Opening Swing, Schaper won twice and finished runner-up at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honor of Gary Player, amassing 1,348 points to dominate the season’s opening phase.
His Opening Swing triumph secured him entry into the Hero Dubai Desert Classic — the first of five Rolex Series events — and all of the DP World Tour’s Back 9 events, along with a $200,000 bonus.
The rapid ascent comes on the back of a consistent 2025 campaign where he collected nine top-10 finishes from 27 starts, establishing himself as one of the Tour’s most promising talents.
“It’s a massive boost (the back-end of 2025),” said Schaper.
“I think it’s more the belief. I’ve been out on Tour for a few years now, and to get your first win is a massive bonus. But to wait five years for your first win and then get your second the week after is such a special feeling.
“Obviously both wins came in a play-off. You always want to be in the play-off, but it’s a tougher way to win. So, it’s just a huge confidence boost to know that you belong out here.
For Schaper, the Dubai Invitational represents an opportunity to make it three wins and build momentum ahead of a season featuring a minimum of 42 tournaments in 25 countries.
“It’s my first time out there today and the course is really nice,” said Schaper.
“It’s got that desert feel, you’re kind of on the water and on the dunes — it’s really nice, I do enjoy it.
“Obviously when you come out here, you want to win every week, so that’s what we’ll try and do out here. It will be a nice boost to the season, so that’s the goal.”
The Dubai Invitational is the opening event on the Race to Dubai's International Swing and is played concurrently with a three-day Pro-Am team event, with Sunday featuring professionals only.
The bi-annual event consists of 60 professional DP World Tour golfers and 60 amateur golfers.
Schaper joins a field that includes defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, five-time Major champion Rory McIlroy, and Open champions Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Francesco Molinari.
Also playing are multiple DP World Tour winners, including Ryan Fox and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
