Mohamed Salah celebrates against Southampton - Photo Courtesy Liverpool Media.
Liverpool coach Arne Slot described Egypt international Mohamed Salah as a special player after he helped the side beat Southampton 3-2 on Sunday.
The Reds moved eight points clear at the top of the Premier League after a battling victory on the south coast, where they trailed prior to the hour mark. Dominik Szoboszlai’s opening goal had been overturned by strikes for the hosts from Adam Armstrong and Mateus Fernandes.
But Salah brought the visitors level from Ryan Gravenberch’s assist and then thumped in an 83rd-minute penalty to clinch the result for Arne Slot’s side.
“We always know we can trust on him if things are difficult for us. After we went 2-1 down I didn’t really feel that was the moment we should score in. Then out of a fantastic pass from Ryan Gravenberch though [we did],” said Slot as quoted by the club’s official website.
“But the timing of the run and the way Mo finished it was special and that helped us really back into the game, of course. It’s normal if you score at 2-2 it helps you back in the game but we needed that goal maybe to play the last 25 minutes that we played because then for me it was a matter of time before we scored a goal.
"In the first hour we dominated possession without really creating that much. In the last half-hour we were dominating – or the last 25 minutes – with creating some chances.”
On the game, Salah told Sky Sports: “Very important, especially when we were 2-1 down. I’m glad we managed to win the game, that’s the most important thing. Each game is different. They have a game plan, they played very well and they managed to score early [in the second half] but we also managed to come back in the game and win the game.
“I think we had a good game plan, we tried to play our game and I was confident we were going to have chances. The only focus in my head at that time was to focus on using the opportunities to score.”
Liverpool’s 10th win in 12 Premier League matches so far this season extended their advantage at the summit ahead of hosting reigning champions Manchester City next Sunday.
With 31 points, the Reds are eight clear of City and nine ahead of Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion in the standings.
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