Mohamed Salah quality never in doubt after goal drought ended, says Jurgen Klopp
Monday 15 April 2019 11:00, UK
Jurgen Klopp insists he never had any doubts about the quality of Mohamed Salah after the Liverpool forward scored his first goal in nine games against Southampton on Friday night.
Salah's 80th-minute strike put the Reds 2-1 up at St Mary's, before Jordan Henderson secured the victory to put them two points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Salah had not scored since a 3-0 win over Bournemouth on February 9, but after the Egyptian helped Liverpool beat Saints, Klopp said: "It was never in doubt that he was a great player in my side.
"Super goal from Mo, super run. Fantastic finish. It was goal number 50 [in the Premier League] for Liverpool, an incredible number.
"He's pretty consistent, very consistent. Physical things are always there, but how he stays always calm... it's a nice moment. A first goal after a while."
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Klopp started with Henderson and James Milner on the bench against Southampton, but brought both midfielders on with half-an-hour still to play, and the manager was delighted with their impact.
He said: "Second half, they [Southampton] started lively, but we could bring two very motivated boys on. They helped a lot, pushed the whole team, [and they] do it in the dressing room and on the pitch.
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"Then we scored these two world-class goals, winning the balls back and counter-attacking."
Klopp acknowledged after the game that most observers had expected his side to secure the three points at Southampton, but he was keen to point out winning at St Mary's has become a more impressive achievement since Ralph Hasenhuttl took charge in December.
"In the end, it's brilliant. We come here and we know Southampton are a really different side since Ralph came in," said Klopp. "Everyone was expecting three points, but we knew how difficult it would be.
"Everyone will come here in the future and feel how difficult it is, so that makes it even more satisfying and brilliant that we could win. It was really big for us."
