In the oppressive heat of the press room at the Stadio San Paolo, Jürgen Klopp made it very clear he would not join the debate over Mohamed Salah’s form. “Be relaxed, completely relaxed,” was his final piece of advice to the Liverpool striker, having straight-batted several questions on a subject he considers overblown. Gini Wijnaldum then replaced his manager in the press room. “I’ve told Mo he’s got to get more hat-tricks,” said the midfielder. “He’s had enough of scoring twos, he has to get threes.”
As manager, Klopp has to be more careful with public demands of a crucial player and there is certainly foundation to his argument that Salah’s start – so similar to that of last season – would not have attracted so much focus had Liverpool other things to worry about. As things stand they do not: sitting top of their Champions League group going into Wednesday’s game with Napoli, second in the Premier League only on goal difference as they prepare for Sunday’s showdown with Manchester City at Anfield and still unbeaten in the league thanks to Daniel Sturridge’s 89th-minute equaliser at Chelsea on Saturday.
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