Jurgen Klopp says he is ‘not interested’ in comparing Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo as the two ‘world-class’ forwards go head-to-head this weekend.
Liverpool travel to face Manchester United in a huge Premier League meeting on Sunday, a clash that will see two of the division’s finest footballers face-off at Old Trafford.
Salah has been in electric form for the Reds so far this season and leads the race for the division’s Golden Boot, the Egyptian international having now scored in a club-record nine consecutive games for Liverpool after a brace against Atletico Madrid in midweek.
Klopp hailed the 29-year-old as ‘the best player’ in world football following his performance at Watford last weekend, his early-season performances have drawn inevitable comparisons to Ballon d’Or winners Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.
Klopp was uninterested when asked about comparisons between Salah and Ronaldo, however, but hailed both players as ‘world-class’ talents.
“Why should we compare?” said Klopp at his pre-match press conference.. “Obviously both are world-class players.
“Even though Ronaldo’s left foot is not bad, I would say Mo’s left foot is probably better. Cristiano may be better in the air and his right foot is probably better.
“Speed-wise, both are pretty quick and desperate to score goals but I’ve never really thought about that. I’m not too interested in comparing, sorry.”
Klopp also discussed his side’s formidable goalscoring record this season, with Liverpool the leading scorers in the Premier League, in addition to scoring 10 goals in just three Champions League fixtures.
The German admits he has been pleased with his side’s prolific form, but outlined his equal satisfaction with clean sheets and narrow wins.
“It helps, obviously, but we’re not just relying on our goal-scoring skills,” Klopp said.
“It’s more a coincidence we’ve scored that often. We create chances and score, but [games] in a row, it’s quite strange we’ve done that.
“I love winning a football game 1-0. It’s completely fine and we keep a clean sheet. Scoring goals is good for confidence but relying on that is already the first step in a completely wrong direction.”
