Liverpool boss Klopp explains the one difference between Mane & Salah
Jurgen Klopp has said the difference between the goalscoring form of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah is a result of luck more than anything else.
Mane has been scoring the lion’s share of Liverpool’s goals of late while Salah is in the midst of a dry spell.
Mane’s purple patch vs Salah’s dry spell: Five key things to know…
- Both Mane and Salah have scored 20 goals across all competitions so far this season.
- However, Mane has scored nine goals in his last nine Premier League appearances, while Salah has just one in his last eight.
- Salah’s decision-making in the final third has been questioned in recent matches, although he did provide a pinpoint assist for Mane’s second goal against Bayern Munich last week.
- The Egyptian scored 44 goals in all competitions last season but has struggled to replicate that form this term.
- Mane has matched his 20-goal tally from last season in six fewer appearances and is expected to add to it before the end of the campaign.
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Salah’s lack of goals would likely be harming Liverpool if not for Mane’s form, and Klopp believes the Senegalese winger is reaping the rewards of hard work, as well as a bit of luck.
“He is in a really good moment, of course,” Klopp told Liverpool’s official website.
“Sadio played pretty much always like this but now he is always in the right spot in the right moment. In football it’s sometimes like this.
“The only thing he did when he was not always in the right spot was work and work and work. That’s exactly what Mo has to do, exactly the same: just work, do the right things and it will come again.
“He’s just rather unlucky, where Sadio is lucky in the moment – he is in brilliant shape, that’s true.
“But then, he is in the right shape and maybe a yard away from him is Mo, but somebody else scored.
“I was a striker, I had that as well, you think, ‘Oh’ and then somebody else missed the chance. That’s how it is, all good.
“But, of course, it’s a brilliant moment for him [Mane].”
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Will Klopp give Salah a break?
Liverpool’s next match is a crucial Premier League meeting with Tottenham at Anfield, a match they must win to stay above Manchester City at the summit.
Perhaps against a lesser opponent Klopp would considering giving Salah a rest, but Liverpool can’t afford to leave the 26-year-old out against Spurs.
Salah scored twice – including a stunning individual effort – in this exact fixture last season, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
After Tottenham, the Reds travel to Southampton, where both Spurs and Arsenal have lost this season. Again, resting Salah could be too risky.
