LONDON / NYON — Jurgen Klopp believes that Mohamed Salah is ready to wreak more damage on Manchester United in Sunday’s English FA Cup quarter-final as the Egyptian gets back up to speed after a lengthy hamstring injury.
Salah scored in his first start at club level since January 1 as the Reds thrashed Sparta Prague 6-1 Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
With that goal, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score 20 or more goals in seven consecutive seasons.
The 31-year-old has scored more goals against United than any other club, netting 12 times in 13 meetings, and his return is a huge boost to Liverpool’s quest for a potential quadruple.
In Klopp’s final season in charge, they have already lifted the League Cup and are also tied on points with Arsenal at the top of the English Premier League.
And the German is hoping his talisman can prove decisive in the closing months of the season.
“Mo Salah is pure quality and ask him what he likes the most about Manchester United,” Klopp told his pre-match press conference.
“Just an exceptional guy, a world-class player and how we dealt without him is unbelievable. But it is better to have him around and on the pitch than just in the changing room,” Klopp added according to AFP.
“We could build him now with minutes and he is ready for Sunday.”
By contrast, United is enduring a miserable second season under Erik ten Hag, with the FA Cup representing their final shot at a trophy.
But they are the only side to have stopped Liverpool scoring this season in a 0-0 draw when the sides met at Anfield in December.
And despite Liverpool enjoying far greater success than their historic rivals during Klopp’s time in charge, he has only won on two of his nine visits to Old Trafford.
“It’s always a tough place to go for us,” said Klopp. “It means everything to both fan groups, we know that. We try to show that on the pitch as well with the work rate but you never know, there are no guarantees.”
Liverpool’s injury crisis is slowly beginning to clear, with Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch in contention to make their return on Sunday.
But Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota remain sidelined until at least after the upcoming international break.
Liverpool and Leverkusen kept on track in Europa League final
Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, were kept apart in the quarter-finals draw for the UEFA Europa League and can meet only if they reach a final that would be heavy with storylines for their standout coaches.
Liverpool was paired with Atalanta in the quarter-finals with the first leg at Anfield on April 11. The return is one week later in Bergamo, where Liverpool won 5-0 in a Champions League game three seasons ago.
Bundesliga leader Leverkusen – coached by former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso and still unbeaten in all competitions in his stunning, first full season – has to travel to England as it was drawn against West Ham with the first-leg in London.
A meeting between Liverpool and Leverkusen would take on added meaning after coach Jurgen Klopp announced in January that he will leave at the end of the season the club he has revived since 2015, AP reported.
Alonso is widely seen as a leading candidate to replace Klopp and return to Liverpool where, as a creative midfielder, he helped win the “Miracle of Istanbul” final of the Champions League in 2005.
Also, AC Milan – the team Liverpool and Alonso beat in Istanbul – was paired with Roma in an all-Italian clash, and Benfica was drawn to face Marseille in a meeting of former European champions.
In the semi-finals, Benfica or Marseille will host the first-leg against Liverpool or Atlanta.
Milan or Roma will be at home first against Leverkusen or West Ham
Leverkusen extended its remarkable unbeaten run to 37 games to eliminate Qarabag of Azerbaijan in the round of 16.
Two stoppage-time goals by Patrick Schick overturned the 10-man visitors’ 2-1 lead on the night, and 4-3 on aggregate score, to a 3-2 win and 5-4 advantage.
At the same time, Liverpool was routing Sparta Prague 6-1 for an aggregate score of 11-2.
Liverpool’s 11 goals tied a record for the UEFA Europa League – matching Lyon’s tally over two legs against AZ Alkmaar in 2017 – since the competition was rebranded 15 years ago.
The Europa League lineup features four former European champions and the winners of the two Europa Conference Leagues – Roma and West Ham – since the third-tier competition was launched in 2021.
The final is on May 22 in Dublin.
In the Europa Conference League draw, Aston Villa was paired with Lille in the quarterfinals and Viktoria Plzen will host the first-leg against Fiorentina, which was the beaten finalist last season against West Ham.
The two Greek teams avoided each other with PAOK playing away first at Club Brugge and Olympiakos hosting the first leg against Fenerbahce.
While Olympiakos fans are sure to create a raucous atmosphere for the visit of a Turkish team to Athens, UEFA banned Fenerbahce from selling tickets to its fans for the game in a disciplinary ruling announced.
Fenerbahce also was fined 80,000 euros ($87,000) for its fans lighting and throwing fireworks at previous games.
The UEFA Europa Conference League final is on May 29, also in Athens at AEK’s stadium.
