Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed he had to tell Mohamed Salah to stop defending – something he has never asked a player before.
The 31-year-old got on the score sheet in the Reds’ 6-1 Europa League last-16 second leg rout over Sparta Prague at Anfield on Thursday night.
In doing so, he created club history by becoming the first to fire in at least 20 goals in seven successive seasons for the Merseyside outfit.
And with an FA Cup quarter-final clash at Manchester United on the horizon, Klopp has declared he planned to take the Egyptian off to keep him fresh.
However an injury picked up by academy graduate Bobby Clark led to the ex-Chelsea man to play the whole 90 minutes.
And it led to the German to ask the winger something he has never told a player before.
Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “We wanted to take off Mo, but Bobby sits on the ground and says he feels something in the ankle.”
Klopp continued: “Mo is a very experienced player.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve told any player to just stop defending, that’s how it is – ‘Don’t run in the direction anymore’.
“He nearly then set up a wonderful goal, but I think Cody [Gakpo] was offside in that moment.
“But he’s very experienced, so he got easily over the line.”
It was Salah’s first start for Liverpool since New Year’s Day having dealt with hamstring issues in 2024.
And having made Liverpool history, Klopp waxed lyrical over the former Roma maestro in his post-match press conference.
He remarked: “The stat is not really surprising, because he is an outstanding player.
“I’m less surprised than maybe some others, I thought it had already happened to be honest, but he was injured for a while, otherwise he would have done it in January or February.
“But great, very good, and great to have him back. In seven years together with him, the one problem we never had was consistency.
“Mo is just delivering and delivering and delivering, his desire doesn’t stop, his quality is there and his desire to score doesn’t stop.
“He has improved in so many aspects since he started here. That’s how it is, he will not stop.”