A LOOK BACK: An act of kindness from Mohamed Salah brought Jurgen Klopp to tears back in 2018, but comments made by the Egyptian forward since had shed new light on the gesture
Alongside Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are already assured of a place in Liverpool folklore.
The trio established themselves as one of the most potent and feared front threes in Europe in their pomp, bagging a glut of goals under Jurgen Klopp.
But nothing can last forever: Salah may have signed a bumper new deal last summer, but Mane opted to depart in order to embark on a fresh challenge with Bayern Munich. And Firmino is set to follow his old Anfield teammate out of the exit door this summer, too, once his current contract expires in just a few weeks’ time.
News of Firmino’s exit, which broke back in March, has given Liverpool fans plenty of notice ahead of the Brazilian’s final Anfield farewell in the coming weeks. Emotions are likely to be high as the occasion draws closer – and understandably, fans are already starting to reminisce.
In recent weeks, an incident between Salah and Firmino which reduced Klopp to tears has resurfaced. During the Reds’ impressive 5-1 win over Arsenal back in December 2018, Salah – Liverpool’s usual penalty taker – gave his teammate the chance to complete his hat-trick from the spot.
And while Klopp paid tribute to the touching moment after the match, Salah’s recent spot-kick history – and comments on it – shed new light on the incident.
The Egyptian forward has come under the spotlight after missing two high-profile penalties this year – and it turns out that Salah has never been a fan of spot-kicks.
Speaking to Anfield legend Steven Gerrard, Salah said previously: “I think when I came I wasn’t in the first one, two, three, four [penalty takers]. I don’t know.
“Then there was a game at Huddersfield [in January 2018] and [Harry] Kane was scoring 21, 22 [goals]. Something like this. There was only one difference [between Kane and Salah]. Then Milner was in the game and I wasn’t really aware of everything going on. I was like ‘Okay. I’m going to take it’, I asked him nicely.
“A few players came to me and I said ‘guys, I need to take it. I need to score. We’re already [two] goals up’. And for me, there he [Milner] told me to take it. So I took and equalised with Kane and after that, Milner came to me [to let me take them].”
“I always hate pens. I don’t like the feeling,” he added – underlining that the opportunity to hand Firmino the chance to score from the spot back then may have been one Salah welcomed.
While Firmino is closing the book on his Liverpool career, there are still plenty more chapters to be written in Salah’s story.
It remains to be seen, though, if he will remain on penalty duties. Klopp hinted that he would hold talks with Salah over the role, but the forward stepped up and scored in the recent win over Tottenham.
Regardless of what the future holds, penalties or no penalties, one thing is for sure: Salah will continue to score goals for Liverpool.
