27th April 2024
Mohamed Salah ruined Jurgen Klopp’s attempt to play down a touchline spat at West Ham on Saturday, claiming there would be a “fire” if he spoke about the clash, following Liverpool’s 2-2 draw.
The Reds were desperate to bounce back after a painful midweek loss in the Merseyside derby at Everton and Klopp dropped Salah to the bench in an attempt to jolt his weary team into form.
Liverpool recovered from conceding an opener to take a 2-1 lead midway through the second half at the London Stadium.
But Michail Antonio effectively ended their faint Premier League title hopes when he headed an equaliser in the 77th minute.
Salah had been waiting to come on before Antonio’s goal and was involved in an animated conversation with Klopp, appearing to be angry with his manager.
It ended with fellow substitute Darwin Nunez being forced to push teammate Salah away before they entered the fray.
“We spoke about it in the dressing room and that is done for me,” said Klopp, in the final weeks of his Anfield reign.
Asked if Salah was OK with it, Klopp claimed: “That was my impression.”
However, when Salah walked past reporters and was asked to stop, he admitted: “There’s going to be a fire today if I speak.”
The 31-year-old has struggled to hit top form in recent weeks, scoring just once in his past six matches.
The Egypt forward has been linked with a move away from Anfield at the end of the season, with Saudi clubs understood to be interested in his signature.
