Liverpool boss Klopp rules Salah and Firmino out of Barcelona second leg
Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Liverpool will be without Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona on Wednesday.
The Reds already face an uphill task after losing the first leg 3-0 in the Nou Camp last week but must now overturn that deficit without two of their famed front three.
Liverpool’s improbable Barcelona task: Five key things to know…
- Liverpool lost 3-0 to Barca in last week’s Champions League semi-final first leg.
- A Lionel Messi double and a Luis Suarez strike put the Catalan giants in firm control.
- Klopp has not given up hope of overturning the deficit at Anfield.
- But the Reds will be without star forwards Salah and Firmino due to head and ankle injuries respectively.
- Klopp did, however, confirm Salah will be available for their final Premier League game of the season vs Wolves.
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Salah was stretchered off during Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Newcastle United at the weekend after suffering a head injury and although Klopp confirmed he is available to face Wolves on the final day of the season, the German says he has been ruled out of Wednesday’s game.
Firmino, meanwhile, has been suffering from an ankle problem and will also be sidelined for the visit of the Catalan giants.
“Both Mo and Roberto are not available,” Klopp told reporters when asked about the availability of his star forwards.
And on Salah’s condition, he then added: “It’s concussion so he wouldn’t be allowed to play. We cannot do it.
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“He feels OK, but it is not good enough from a medical point of view.
“That’s all. He’s desperate, everything, but we can do it.”
Klopp: There is hope vs Barcelona
A 3-0 deficit in any semi-final second leg is a mountainous task but given that Liverpool’s opposition is Barcelona, their task looks all the more difficult.
A Messi double and a strike from ex-Red Suarez has left Klopp’s side needing four goals if they are to go through in normal time but the former Dortmund manager is not ruling his team out just yet, insisting there is still hope of progression.
“There’s hope and it’s football,” he said. “We are not in a situation where we say it will happen 100% but it’s football.
“The character of the boys….two of the world’s best strikers are not available and we have to score four goals to go through in 90 minutes.
“As long as we have 11 players on the pitch we will try for 90 minutes to celebrate the Champions League campaign to give it a proper finish.
“That’s the plan. If we can do it, wonderful. If we can’t do it, let’s fail in the most beautiful way.”
