October 16, (THEWILL) – Following Liverpool’s 5-0 demolition of Watford at Vicarage Road, Jurgen Klopp has hailed Mohamed Salah as the best player in the world “right now.”
Claudio Ranieri’s Watford reign got off to the worst possible start with a hat-trick from Roberto Firmino, but it was Salah who stole the show with yet another goal of the season contender.
When Salah wriggled away from three defenders to curl Liverpool into a 4-0 lead less than nine minutes into the second half, he had already laid on Sadio Mane’s opening goal early in the first half.
Salah rivalled the remarkable goal he scored in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City a fortnight ago, and it brought his Premier League tally for the season to seven goals in eight games.
“His performance was massive today,” Klopp said. “The pass for the first goal was great and the second goal was special. He is top. We all see it. Who is better than him? We don’t have to talk about what Messi and Ronaldo have done for world football and their dominance. But right now, he is the best.”
Mane put Liverpool ahead inside the first eight minutes, and Liverpool dominated their opponents from start to finish in what was a disappointing first game under Ranieri.
In a BT Sport interview ahead of the match, Klopp expressed his displeasure with the early kick-off time, but he was pleased with his team’s performance at Vicarage Road.
“It was good! I cannot say differently. After international break it is hard to find the rhythm after playing different systems, but the boys were so good despite only having one session before today,” Klopp said.
“I am confident at the moment, helping the team win points which is the most important thing. I think Watford had ideas, but we didn’t let them play. The goals were really brilliant, there was great attitude, energy and character.”
It was Salah’s ninth goal in his last eight games across all competitions, but the Egyptian striker refused to be drawn on whether he is in the best form of his career at the moment.
“I don’t know. Sometimes I don’t have the luck to score goals but I am always trying 100 per cent to help the team,” he said. “I am confident at the moment, helping the team win points which is the most important thing.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
