Jurgen Klopp insists he is ‘not particularly concerned’ by Mohamed Salah’s form and says the Liverpool forward has always had periods when he has been less effective in front of goal.
Salah has scored 29 goals for club and country this season but there is a feeling his overall game is declining and he is becoming efficient in the final third.
The Egyptian scored from the penalty spot against Atalanta on Thursday night but Liverpool still left the Europa League due to a 3-1 aggregate defeat to the Serie A side.
With Liverpool chasing the two goals needed to take the tie to extra-time, Salah was subbed off with 30 minutes remaining but Klopp insists he is not worried by the 31-year-old’s form.
‘I’m not worried,’ Klopp said. ‘This is what strikers do and what happens to strikers. They have to go through this, he has to go through this.
‘He’s one of the most experienced players we have in the squad. That’s pretty much all. It’s not like Mo hasn’t missed chances before in his life, that’s part of the game.
‘The penalty was super convincing, it was a super penalty. The next chance was unlucky but it’s not the first time he’s missed a chance. I’m not particularly concerned, no.’
Out of Europe, Liverpool’s season is at risk of petering out, although they remain just two points off the top of the Premier League despite losing to Crystal Palace last weekend.
‘We have to focus on the league and that is exactly what we will do from now,’ Klopp said. ‘Tonight we won the game so we are back to winning ways.
‘We have a few days to recover to go again against Fulham. That will be a different game but it will be tricky.’
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, called on the club’s fans to stick by the team as they try to win the Premier League in Klopp’s final season at Anfield.
‘We won tonight and we kept a clean sheet, so there are so many more positives we can take,’ he said. ‘Yes, it is a bad feeling to be out, but we have to get back up.
‘We need everyone now for the last push in the league. Hopefully our fans will be there because we need the fans now more than ever because anything is still possible.’
