Jurgen Klopp reacts to angry Mohamed Salah’s reaction after shock Liverpool substitution
Mohamed Salah‘s enraged reaction to being substituted during Liverpool’s draw with Chelsea, according to Jurgen Klopp, was “absolutely fine.”
The Reds began their Premier League season at Stamford Bridge and got off to a strong start, with Luis Diaz sending the visitors ahead and Mohamed Salah having the ball in the net after a beautiful pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, but VAR ruled it offside.
Chelsea responded through Axel Disasi before halftime and dominated the majority of the second half, prompting Klopp to make two substitutions that did not sit well with Mohamed Salah.
Salah ripped off his wrist tape and threw it to the ground as he strode off the field without acknowledging Klopp. Ben Doak and Harvey Elliott replaced Salah and Diaz with approximately 15 minutes remaining. When queried about the incident after the game, Liverpool’s manager had no objections.
“I can understand because if Mo had scored it would have been a new record for goals scored in the opening game, but I didn’t think about that,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“We required both stability and fresh legs. It was incredibly intense for everyone.
“That’s all I can say about it; his response was perfectly acceptable. When I substitute a player and he leaps into my arms at 1-1 and he is a striker who believes he will score, I would be astonished, so that is perfectly acceptable.
At Stamford Bridge, Liverpool started with an extremely offensive lineup, with Alexis Mac Allister as the deepest midfielder and Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo as the two players ahead of him.
In recent weeks, the club has been heavily linked with Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, but they are set to lose out on both players as Chelsea lead the race for the midfield duo. However, Klopp was adamant that the lack of a holding midfielder at Stamford Bridge was not the issue.
“Today’s defensive issues had nothing to do with the offensive tendencies of the midfielders,” said Klopp. “All of these boys are capable of doing what we ask of them.”
Regarding the Caicedo affair, he remarked, “No news at all.”
Jurgen Klopp reacts to angry Mohamed Salah’s reaction after shock Liverpool substitution