Although Jürgen Klopp and his player Mohamed Salah would have preferred to avoid each other, they unintentionally ran into each other. The Liverpool FC coach immediately went onto the field after the Premier League away game at West Ham United, and Salah, in turn, quickly looked for the exit. But before a collision could occur, both of them changed their direction slightly – so that they passed each other at a safe distance. Who knows what else would have happened after their previous spat?
This was also a defining factor in the 2-2 draw, which was sobering from Liverpool’s point of view, with which Klopp will probably have to give up his last hope of winning the championship title before saying goodbye in the summer. Everything in this game started in the 79th minute, when Klopp wanted to high-five his players on the sidelines, as he always did, immediately before a triple substitution. However, Salah ignored this offer and only reluctantly held out his hand at the second attempt. The ignorance annoyed the coach, who then verbally challenged his striker. After a short conversation, Klopp turned away and hugged the other players standing by, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez.
The game continued with a great chance for West Ham when Klopp suddenly approached Salah again and this time reprimanded him with a harsher choice of words. Salah didn’t put up with the scolding and angrily followed the coach. Nunez and Gomez were only able to hold back their teammate with difficulty. At that moment, Liverpool conceded the 2-2 equalizer, which made Salah even more angry: he turned away, ran to the other side and was at least calmed down there by West Ham coach David Moyes.
Despite an appealing performance, Salah was unable to change the result in the remaining minutes. The attacker has now been waiting for a goal contribution for four league games, and Salah’s form and mood curve also shows Liverpool’s record, which is currently badly disappointing its own expectations and those of the fans with just two wins in six competitive games. In just a few weeks, the club fell from first to third place in the Premier League.
After the game, Klopp tried to smooth things over
The misery began in mid-March when Klopp substituted Salah in the final stages of the FA Cup defeat against Manchester United. The Egyptian had only just returned from persistent muscle problems, but had played the full distance in the insignificant Europa League match against Sparta Prague three days earlier. During that game, Klopp told Salah to “stop defending” to rest himself – Liverpool’s substitution quota had already been exhausted.
The second unfortunate personnel decision came when Klopp rotated to six positions before the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Bergamo, and Salah was also affected. The game turned into a 0-3 debacle from which Liverpool and Salah have not yet recovered. After the recent defeat at Everton FC, Klopp put Salah on the bench, which he responded to on Saturday with a consistently bad mood. After the 2-2 score, Klopp tried to smooth things over. He emphasized that he had spoken to Salah in the dressing room. That’s the end of the matter. But in the interview zone, Salah said: “If I speak, it will burn!”