LONDON – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed Mohamed Salah’s “outstanding performance” in Liverpool’s 5-0 demolition of Watford and reiterated his belief that the Egyptian is the best player in the world, with Salah’s wonder goal and superb assist in the game just the latest examples of his outstanding talent.
Salah picked out Sadio Mane with a brilliant pass to open the scoring and then added a brilliant solo goal to make it 4-0 as Klopp’s team handed new Watford boss Claudio Ranieri a resounding defeat in his first game in charge.
“Come on, 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,” a delighted Klopp told BT Sport.
“His (Salah’s) performance was massive. The pass for the first goal was great, and the second goal was special. He is top. We all see it,” he added according to Reuters.
Many in Klopp’s star-studded squad were away on international duty, but they slotted back into their club side quickly as they set about demolishing Watford.
“After the 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 explained.
“I think Watford had ideas, but we didn’t let them play. The goals were really brilliant, there was great attitude, energy and character.”
Former Chelsea and Leicester City boss Ranieri endured a tough afternoon on his return to English football as his side were completely outplayed in the first half, and they only began to string some passes together when they were 4-0 down.
“I think that we conceded too many chances to them. Of course, Liverpool is a very fantastic team. When I came I knew I would have to work very, very hard … but I’m sure we can improve. We have to improve,” Ranieri told BT Sport.
Salah set up Mane’s 100th Premier League goal and scored a brilliant goal of his own, while Roberto Firmino bagged a hat-trick as Liverpool reclaimed top spot with a 5-0 win over Watford in Claudio Ranieri’s first game in charge.
The visitors took the lead in the ninth minute when Liverpool won a Watford kickout, and Mohamed Salah played a sublime pass to Mane with the outside of his left boot for the Senegalese striker to notch his Premier League century.
Mane then picked out James Milner on an overlapping run and he drove a perfect ball across the goal for Firmino to steer home from close range in the 37th minute to put the Reds 2-0 up at halftime.
Firmino added his second seven minutes after the break, pouncing on a defensive mistake to poke home, before Salah stole the headlines two minutes later with an outrageous display of close control, outwitting three defenders in a tight space before curling the ball into the net.
Ranieri, who took over as Watford boss on October 4 following the sacking of Xisco Munoz, was left in no doubt about the size of the task he faces as Watford came up woefully short, and Firmino added his third in second-half stoppage time.
The win lifts Liverpool back to the Premier League summit on 18 points, two ahead of Chelsea who can retake the lead if they beat Brentford in Saturday’s late game. Watford are 15th on seven points.
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