Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has likened Mohamed Salah’s body to a 20-year-old after he scored in the Reds’ 5-1 bashing of Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The 31-year-old came off the bench at Anfield to score his 43rd European goal for the Reds, surpassing Arsenal legend Thierry Henry to become the highest scorer for an English club in European competitions.
It continued Salah’s fantastic form in front of goal for the Reds with his nine goals in all competitions this season, and Klopp believes Salah cannot be compared to any other player in their 30s.
43 – Mohamed Salah has now scored 43 goals for Liverpool in major European competitions, the most of any player for an English club. Only. pic.twitter.com/jqHUV8lxj7
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 26, 2023
“Off the pitch, he behaves like a grown-up man, besides that, he is just still a young player. It’s like that. He’s top fit. I think if we would really scan him, the majority of his bones are probably 19 or 20, because he just keeps himself in such a good shape,” Klopp said on the club website.
“No, it’s with game understanding. That’s what we try to give young players. So, they all know an awful lot about football when they finish their career at 35, but the earlier you can get this information the more useful it is.
“Obviously, with Mo that’s clear, he understands the spaces much better, he knows how players react to him, and then if he cannot score he can still be a threat for us, and that’s really super-important. How I said, the Everton game obviously will not go down in history performance-wise, but then scoring two goals is massive.
“In other games, playing much better and not scoring but being constantly a threat, is for us as important because that really opens up spaces for all the other boys. You might be right, but I cannot compare Mo to other 30-odd-year-old players because I don’t think biologically he is [30s]!”
Liverpool will turn their attention to the Premier League as they prepare to host Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Sunday.
