Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp explained that he had substituted Mohamed Salah nearly an hour after his team’s match against Chelsea on Thursday, which was decided by the latter with a goal in the 29th round of the English Premier League.
Salah seemed unhappy with the decision of the German, who preferred to take out the Egyptian star, and the result indicated Chelsea’s progress.
Klopp said after his decision in a press conference after the meeting: “Salah seemed to me feeling frustrated, this is not a problem.”
The former coach of Dortmund continued, “I may have substituted other players, but he seemed impressed by the intensity of the match and I did not want to take the risk.”
“I have known him for a long time, he always looked ready. But it was a sign not to risk continuing it,” he said.
Matt Critchley, a BBC Sports correspondent at Anfield Road, the stronghold of the confrontation, said in Twitter that Klopp was shouting for Salah to return to defensive support 5 minutes before he was substituted.
Salah not happy at being taken off. Shaking his head as walked to bench. But 5 mins ago Klopp was screaming at him to track back & help out defensively, he was a long way off. Bit of a half hearted jog. Klopp turned to Ljinders almost straight away & they discussed replacing him
— Matt Critchley (@MattCritchley1) March 4, 2021
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Salah, 28, wanted to complete the match, hoping to score a draw against the London club, but Klopp decided to take him out and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain entered.
Salah is the top scorer this season in the Premier League with 17 goals.
Salah has participated in 37 games with Liverpool this season, scoring 24 goals and sending 4 assists.
Liverpool suffered a new defeat at home to continue its negative results and stopped its score at 43 points and ranked seventh in the league.
Liverpool host Fulham on Sunday.
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