LIVERPOOL: Jurgen Klopp believes comparisons between Mohamed Salah and Barcelona’s five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi are premature, but that the Egyptian is on his way to one day becoming the best player in the world.
Salah’s stunning season continued with a four-goal haul in a 5-0 thrashing of Watford at Anfield to take his tally for the season to 36 on Saturday — the most goals ever scored by a Liverpool player in their debut year at the club.
Messi showed why he is still widely considered the world’s best by scoring his 100th Champions League goal in tearing Chelsea apart in a 3-0 win on Wednesday.
But Klopp believes Salah, 25, has time on his side to succeed Messi and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo, both now in their thirties, as the world’s best player.
“I think Mo is on the way (to being the best in the world),” said Klopp.
“I don’t think Mo or anybody else wants to be compared with Lionel Messi. He is the one who is doing what he’s doing for what feels like 20 years or so.”
And Klopp challenged Salah to maintain the standards he has set this season in the manner Messi and Ronaldo have for the past decade.
“As it always is in life, if you have the skills, you have to show that constantly, and consistently he is very good and he helps us a lot.”
Salah even defied the slippery conditions of a snow storm as he weaved his way past Jose Holebas to slot home the opener after just four minutes.
“Conditions were difficult. It was obviously slippery and everybody suffered, but not Mo in that situation. It was really special,” added Klopp.
Liverpool had to wait until two minutes before half-time to double their advantage, but there was no surprise who was on the end of a sweeping team move as Salah got his second of the evening from Andy Robertson’s inch-perfect cross.
Salah turned provider immediately after the break when his cross was wonderfully backheeled past Karnezis by Roberto Firmino.
The Egyptian made it 4-0 with 13 minutes remaining as, despite falling over, he managed to slide the ball past Karnezis.
And he then capped off a brilliant personal performance in the dying seconds, thrashing into the roof of the net after Karnezis had fumbled Danny Ings’ shot.
“Seems crazy to say that a £37.5m signing is an absolute bargain, but how much would Mo Salah cost now?” tweeted former England and Barcelona striker Gary Lineker. “What a player.”
Michael Owen scored 118 goals for Liverpool and you suspect it will not be long before the Egyptian is closing in on his tally.
“Scoring goals has always been regarded as the hardest part of the game,” tweeted Owen. “Mo Salah is starting to make me question that statement.”
Mohamed Salah invites comparisons with Lionel Messi after making it 36 goals in debut Liverpool season
Mohamed Salah invites comparisons with Lionel Messi after making it 36 goals in debut Liverpool season
Slot not surprised by flying start at Liverpool
The Dutch coach has won 14 and drawn one of his 16 matches in charge in all competitions as the holders have also progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals.
Slot appeared to have a tough ask to follow Jurgen Klopp.
But he has built on the solid foundations left by the German after Liverpool finished third in the Premier League behind Manchester City and Arsenal last season.
“Surprise isn’t the right word I’d use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing, to be consistent is a second thing,” said Slot at his pre-match press conference ahead of hosting Aston Villa on Saturday.
“From the moment I started working with them I saw how much energy they put in on a daily basis and that is I think the reason you can be consistent.”
Liverpool were inspired by the power of the Anfield crowd to come from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 last weekend to move two points ahead of City at the top of the Premier League.
A similar atmosphere helped blow Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen away 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Slot is keen to keep his players’ feet on the ground but is happy for the fans to get excited about the possibility of just a second league title in 35 years.
“If the end result of them being excited is to bring the atmosphere of the second half against Brighton and the whole game against Leverkusen, I am hoping they will keep being excited because that atmosphere helped us a lot,” added the former Feyenoord boss.
Diogo Jota remains sidelined but should return after November’s international break.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar
- Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
- PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.
Raphinha’s evolution into a more versatile scorer is a big part of Flick’s great start at Barcelona
BARCELONA: Raphinha knew he would have a hard time getting off Barcelona’s bench with the soccer world enthralled by teen phenom Lamine Yamal and the club eyeing to sign another hot prospect in the attack.
Instead of pouting, he evolved.
While the entire Barcelona team improved under new coach Hansi Flick, no player has made such a leap forward this season as Raphinha.
His 12 goals and team-leading 10 assists across all competitions are a big part of why Barcelona is playing its best soccer since the exit of Lionel Messi more than three years ago.
But if one player looked to be on the out when the season started, it was the Brazil forward.
Raphinha seemed destined to become a second-choice right-side winger after 17-year-old Yamal helped Spain win the European Championship in dazzling style. To make matters worse, the club was heavily linked to a possible transfer bid to pry Spain left-side winger Nico Williams away from Athletic Bilbao.
That move never materialized for Williams, but Raphinha was still left with either playing in a new position or being a backup to Yamal.
And when Flick gave him the chance to have a new role, he made the most of it.
England gives call-up to more new faces in final squad before Thomas Tuchel takes over
LONDON: Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall were called up to the England squad for the first time on Thursday as interim coach Lee Carsley made his final selection before Thomas Tuchel takes charge.
Tuchel does not start until January after being hired to lead the national team’s bid to win the 2026 World Cup.
Carsley will oversee England’s final Nations League games against Greece and Ireland and has continued to look toward a new generation of players, having already handed debuts to Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White and Noni Madueke since taking over on a temporary basis from Gareth Southgate in August.
Carsley said had not discussed his selection with Tuchel.
“He hasn’t had any influence on the squad selection. I’ve spoken to him by text, but it’s literally congratulations,” he said. “I think he’s highly respectful of the job that not only myself, but the staff are doing.
“We’ve been left to it, like we always have.”
England plays Greece in Athens on Nov. 14 and Ireland at Wembley on Nov. 17.
Carsley will resume his role as England Under-21 coach after those games.
Man City seek to end mini-slump as Liverpool soar
- Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have become so accustomed to success that three straight defeats feels like a major crisis
- Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his final game as interim manager of Manchester United and winless Wolves play fellow strugglers Southampton
LONDON: Injury-hit Manchester City are desperate to snap their losing streak in their final Premier League game before the international break as Chelsea aim to deepen Arsenal’s misery.
Elsewhere in the English top flight, Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his final game as interim manager of Manchester United and winless Wolves play fellow strugglers Southampton.
Here are some of the key talking points ahead of the action this weekend.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have become so accustomed to success that three straight defeats feels like a major crisis.
Last week City, who face Brighton on Saturday, were ousted from the League Cup by Tottenham.
Their 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end at Bournemouth before Sporting Lisbon beat them 4-1 in the Champions League — ending another long unbeaten stretch.
Guardiola’s men, gunning for a fifth consecutive Premier League title, are just two points behind league leaders Liverpool but will be wary of losing further ground.
Midfielder Bernardo Silva says the club’s multiple injury worries are not an excuse for their poor form but he admits the international break, which starts after the weekend, comes at a good time.
“At the moment with the injuries that we have and the psychological part as well, it will be good to have that rest, but before that we have a big game again,” he said.
One positive for City in their defeat to Sporting was the return of Kevin De Bruyne, who came on as a late substitute after seven weeks out of action.
If results go against them, Arsenal could find themselves eighth in the Premier League by the time they kick off against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s men have picked up just one point from their past three league games and lost their midweek Champions League clash against Inter Milan 1-0.
Arteta was upbeat despite the defeat at the San Siro, where captain Martin Odegaard made a welcome return to action after being absent since late August.
But defeat against in-form Chelsea plus a win for Liverpool would leave Arsenal, runners-up in each of the past two seasons, 10 points off top spot.
Thierry Henry said on CBS Sports that if Liverpool and City win at the weekend and Arsenal lose, his former side could be out of the title race.
“It would be extremely difficult because you (would) have too many teams to catch... I don’t see two teams collapsing,” he said.
Arne Slot has won 14 of his first 16 games in charge of Liverpool in all competitions.
The club had a relatively kind fixture list at the start of the season but they show no signs of letting up — taking seven points from games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton in recent weeks and boasting a perfect record in the Champions League.
Liverpool have also beaten two Premier League teams, West Ham and Brighton, on their way to the League Cup quarter-finals.
Former Feyenoord boss Slot brushed off a question about whether he was finding his new job “easy” after Liverpool’s thumping 4-0 win against German champions Bayer Leverkusen this week.
“Every team that plays against us is in the top of their game,” he said. “And if you want to win that, you always have to be consistent in your intensity, and that’s not always easy but that is what’s needed.”
Liverpool have a tough run of fixtures coming up, starting with Aston Villa at home on Saturday, but so far they have proved they have what it takes.
Fixtures
Saturday (1500 GMT unless stated)
Brentford vs. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace v Fulham, West Ham vs. Everton, Wolves vs. Southampton, Brighton v Manchester City (1730), Liverpool vs. Aston Villa (2000)
Sunday (1400 unless stated)
Manchester Utd vs. Leicester, Nottingham Forest vs. Newcastle, Tottenham vs. Ipswich, Chelsea vss. Arsenal (1630)
