Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has hailed the perfect start of the club’s newcomer Mohamed Salah, insisting that Egyptian’s participation in the full pre-season programme made the difference.
“Mo has played better than anyone could have imagined,” Klopp was quoted as saying by the club’s official website on Saturday.
“He’s a very good player, one we were convinced about. That’s why we did it,” the coach added.
Since making a switch from AS Roma to Liverpool this summer, the former Chelsea and Fiorentina winger made a quick impact, scoring five goals in his first eight matches with Liverpool in all competitions.
“You could see in the first game at Watford, it was quite difficult for him at the beginning. It was really physical and maybe a few people had doubts and thought it would be difficult for him,” Klopp, the former Borussia Dortmund coach, explained.
“But now he’s much more stable. When he was at Chelsea, he was only a kid there. Now he’s much more mature, his style of play and also physically. Everything is better.
“I’m not surprised but you should not take things like this for granted as sometimes new players need time,” the 50-year old tactician added.
The Pharaohs star, Salah, was lucky to enjoy a full pre-season program with his new teammates and Klopp is certain the 25-year-old has profited from having the opportunity to adapt with Liverpool’s style during that period.
“He had a whole pre-season, which changed everything so it’s not settling in a minute, which people now probably expect from [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain],” added Klopp.
“Mo had a pre-season, good sessions, bad sessions, good games, less good games, so it’s all good,” he concluded.
After five weeks of the English Premier League new season, Liverpool lie at the eighth place in the league table with eight points, five behind leaders Manchester City.
Source: Ahram Online
