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LIVERPOOL. — Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was delighted with forward Mohamed Salah’s display in a more central role after the Egyptian’s goal sealed a 1-0 English Premier League football victory over champions Manchester City on Sunday.
Salah raced away from Joao Cancelo to score and give his side a much-needed win after they came into the encounter having suffered their worst start to an English Premier League season after eight games since 2012-13.
“Absolutely outstanding,” Klopp told reporters. “Obviously he was one of two strikers in the centre together with Roberto Firmino. The goal was world-class.”
Klopp said Salah, who typically plays in a wider role, was unlucky not to have scored earlier.
“The situation immediately before was really unlucky that he didn’t score there already. Apart from that, good on the ball, a constant threat in behind, working extremely hard, an outstanding performance,” he added.
Salah, who was also deployed more centrally when he scored the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history as Liverpool beat Rangers 7-1 last Wednesday, said he hoped the two wins would kick-start their season.
“Hopefully it gives us more confidence so we start winning games. The last few weeks, as you saw, we were not on our best,” Salah said.
“We started already from the last game and this game as well we won so we need to carry on.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale hailed their “outstanding” defence on Sunday as they kept hosts Leeds United at bay to secure a 1-0 win that kept them top of the English Premier League.
Bukayo Saka’s 35th-minute goal proved the winner, with Arsenal marking their best start to a top-flight season with nine wins from 10 games.
“As a whole, we were outstanding defensively. A 1-0 win away from home at Leeds is a really tough ask and we’ve done that,” Ramsdale said.
“Of course we want to win 3-0 each week, passing the ball, but we found a way to win today and that’s the most important thing.
“Bukayo got a goal, but couldn’t get him into the game. We were just losing duals and stuff, but like I say from back to front the whole game we were outstanding defensively.”
Ramsdale said he has not been happy with some of the goals he has conceded recently and was glad to play a big part in helping the side take the three points.
“I have been very critical of myself over recent games from the start of the season where goals have gone in and there’s questions to be answered the following day,” he added. “So to help the team out today was great.
“It’s just one of those emotions where now we’ve set our bar so high standards-wise of how we want to play and we didn’t reach that. But the overriding emotion is elation because we got three points and a 1-0 win away from home.”
And Mikel Arteta has praised the ”excellent” Ramsdale after admitting Arsenal were ”lucky at times” in their win over Leeds United.
The Gunners extended their lead at the summit of the English Premier League to four points with a 1-0 win at Elland Road on Sunday — with Liverpool inflicting defeat on second place Manchester City later in the afternoon.
Saka scored the game’s only goal after capitalising on a mistake from Rodrigo. Leeds thought they had pulled one back through Patrick Bamford only for his effort to be ruled out after being judged to have shoved Gabriel Magalhaes.
Bamford later dragged a penalty wide as Arsenal held onto secure a huge victory.
While the visitors rode their luck at times, Ramsdale made a number of key saves, twice denying Bamford in one-on-one situations and also denying Brendan Aaronson from range.
Arteta highlighted his goalkeeper’s performance post-match.
”We expected a lot of chaotic moments in the game, the way they played, the way the crowd pushes the team. We had to handle that and we found a way to do it,” he told Sky Sports.
”It was a lot of pressure. A lot of time we got the ball and gave it away. We gave simple balls away in really dangerous areas, at times we were lucky. Aaron Ramsdale was excellent.”
Ramsdale was caught in a rather sensitive area after denying Bamford in the first-half, racing out of goal and making himself big to make the stop.
Asked about his best save, he said: ”The one with my nuts maybe? Although it took a big effect on me, I’m still feeling a bit sick now!
”I’m just thankful I was there today. I have been very critical of myself over recent games from the start of the season where goals have gone in, and there’s questions to be answered the following day. So to help the team out today was great.
”It’s just one of those emotions where now we’ve set our bar so high, standards-wise of how we want to play, and we didn’t reach that.
”But the overriding emotion is elation because we got three points and a 1-0 win away from home.” — AFP
Online Reporter