Jurgen Klopp offers curt response when questioned about sideline spat with Mo Salah during West Ham stalemate… as the furious winger warns: ‘If I speak, there will be fire!’
Jurgen Klopp responded curtly when asked about his heated touchline exchange with Mo Salah during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with West Ham.
He dropped Salah for the crucial visit to London and the Egyptian striker was furious over the decision as the two argued on the sidelines.
And Salah issued an alarming warning to reporters after the match: “If I speak, there will be a fire!”
When Klopp brought him on after 79 minutes, Salah responded by waving his arms, pointing at the pitch and then at a retreating Klopp.
The striker continued to abuse the outgoing Liverpool manager and only stopped his display of discontent when striker Darwin Nunez intervened.
Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp got into a heated argument as the Liverpool star prepared for the match against West Ham
It was bad PR for the final weeks of Klopp’s Liverpool tenure and left fans confused about the breakdown in the relationship with Salah, even if it was short-lived.
When asked if he would share what was said on TNT Sports, Klopp replied: ‘No. But we have already spoken to each other in the dressing room and that is done for me.’
It was clear that he was unwilling to shed light on what had happened.
He was also reluctant to talk about Liverpool’s title chances.
âI’m honestly not in the mood to talk about that or look at it,â he said.
“We had to win here, we knew that, we didn’t know that and now we have a little more time between the next games to try to get the boys ready again.”
Klopp had not only dropped Salah for the meeting, but also Nunez.
Between them, the two strikers had scored three goals in Liverpool’s previous seven Premier League matches.
But once again Liverpool’s waste in front of goal haunted them. Despite having 28 shots, they only scored two goals through Andy Robertson and a bizarre West Ham own goal that was ultimately credited to Alphonse Areola.
Klopp added: ‘Obviously very disappointed. There was just the prospect of one team winning the game with the chances we created, the possession we had and everything we did. It is a tough task at the end of a very tough period of ten days and four matches.
‘I thought the boys did very well, we just didn’t concede anything. We needed a few more chances, we had two sloppy goals to score twice, but with the 2-1 lead we were able to stay in control.
‘We played very well in many moments, but in the last moments we didn’t handle it in the right way. That’s the story of the past four weeks and that’s why we drew lots.’