Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has suggested to The Liverpool Echo that he could play Mohamed Salah as a central striker against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Anfield in the Premier League today.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City later today.
Salah scored a hat-trick against Rangers in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
The £34 million (BBC Sport) Egypt international forward came on as a substitute at Ibrox and banged in three goals.
Salah actually played centrally against Rangers despite having made his name out wide at Liverpool, and Liverpool boss Klopp has hinted that he could deploy him in that role against City.
Jurgen Klopp on Mohamed Salah for Liverpool v Manchester City
Klopp said: “It (the hat-trick) helps for sure. The goals were all different. I think he learned from the first game against Rangers.
“We know they help. The best thing you want for your strikers is they score and they all scored or were involved in goals.
“In this game, it was a change we made because Mo came on, Harvey stayed on the pitch and we didn’t change system.
“He can play the position, no doubt about that, but he can play a wider role as well. In the moments he finished, he was more central.
“But it was still his space. Especially for two goals. When he set up the goal for Harvey, he was more flexible and that’s the flexibility we need in our offensive moments. But it’s not so different.
“Whichever system we play, for finishing you need to be in and around the box. There he was there. I don’t think it has too much to do with the position.
“There were situations when we were in possession and he went to the right side. It’s completely normal.
“You need to be flexible, fill up the spaces and force the defenders to react to different scenarios. It’s quite comfortable when you are always in the same space.”
Need to perform
In our view, Liverpool need Mohamed Salah at his best in order to win against Manchester City at Anfield in the Premier League today.
The forward’s confidence must be high after his stunning hat-trick against Rangers at Ibrox in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
City are a much better team than Rangers, so Salah will have to step up his game against the defending Premier League champions if he is to score a goal or two.
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