Jurgen Klopp insists Mohamed Salah is still setting highest standards

Mohamed Salah is being judged to a higher standard this season, prompting Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, to offer a timely reminder of the Egyptian’s enduring and extraordinary contribution to his title-chasing side.

After his 40-goal debut campaign at Anfield, Salah invited comparisons with the strike rates of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Replicating those statistics was never likely.

But with 20 in this campaign – 17 in the Premier League – Salah may still win another golden boot and although he could not end an eight game goal-drought against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, his presence led to the critical winning goal.

“You could see at the end – it was an own goal – it was his decisive header which forced it,” said Klopp.

“I’m sure it felt like his goal. It’s not important if it counts, just that he was in the decisive position. How the ball went in was luck, but that Mo was in that situation came from the training ground. We wanted him to be in that position around the second ball.

“Usually Mo is not in the box for those second balls, but here he was and we stuck to that. I was really pleased when I watched it back.

Klopp said Salah took time at the start of the season to fully recover from the shoulder injury which forced him out of the Champions League final last May. He played in the World Cup despite being short of fitness and was still getting his sharpness back when the Premier League campaign began.

Allied to the fact teams have been double-marking and denying Salah the space to use his rapid pace, his goal return remains exceptional.