Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he would speak to Mohamed Salah about whether the star striker remains on penalty service after missing his second successive penalty during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal at Anfield.
With Liverpool trailing 2-1 in the early stages of the second half after Salah himself pulled back a point to cut Arsenal’s lead just before half time, Diogo Jota came under pressure from a clumsy challenge from Rob Holding.
From the resulting penalty, Salah taunted for power, but opened his body and tried to drive the ball with his left foot into the bottom corner. But he narrowly missed the target.
Fortunately for the Egyptian icon, Roberto Firmino equalized at the end. But going back to level terms much sooner could have given Liverpool a platform for more.
“I only saw the penalty after the game,” Klopp said, admitting that he initially thought he had scored.
“I thought some people in the crowd reacted. When you don’t see the penalty, you react to what people see. Obviously, some people thought the ball was in, but they weren’t right. That’s why I had my fist for a second, then realized that no one was really celebrating and the ball wasn’t in.”
Asked if Salah will remain on call, the Liverpool manager replied: “That’s something we’ll talk about, but not here.”
Liverpool have gone four Premier League games without a win, five in all competitions, since beating Manchester United 7-0 last month. They are 12 points behind fourth-placed United as a result of picking up just two points from the last 12 available and it looks increasingly likely that they will finish outside the top four this season and miss out on Champions League football for the first time. since 2016.
That would be a blow to the Reds, especially at a time when the team is in need of major reinvestment and rebuilding, without another European competition as financially lucrative as the Champions League.
