Klopp hails Mohamed Salah leadership ahead of Egypt’s penalty shoot-out

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Jurgen Klopp had praise for Mohamed Salah on Friday after what he saw the Liverpool forward do for Egypt. The captain played his part in a huge win.

Mohamed Salah didn’t have much go his way for Egypt in his Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Cameroon. In fact, the Liverpool star blew the biggest chance of the game.

An awful backpass put Salah through on goal in the second half. With the goalkeeper charging well out of his box, the winger attempted to knock it around him – but got his touch all wrong. It was the kind of chance you’d bank on Salah scoring 99 times out of 100.

Unfortunately for him, this was the rare occasion he failed. Neither Egypt nor Cameroon could find a winner through the rest of the 90 or extra-time, however.

But there was one notable moment. Egypt manager Carlos Quieroz received a red card before extra-time – potentially a major setback for any side. Especially when someone needs to choose penalty takers and set the right mentality.

Fortunately, Salah appeared to step up.

Klopp applauds Mohamed Salah for Egypt

“I watched a lot of games and it was really obvious Naby [Keita] was the absolute leader in the Guinea team, the same for Sadio [Mane] in the Senegal team and of course Mo with Egypt,” said Klopp, per Liverpoolfc.com.

“Yesterday when the coach was not there anymore because he got a red card, before the penalty shootout you saw Mo talking, speaking and all these kind of things with the whole group.”

In the end, Salah didn’t even need to take a penalty as Cameroon offered up a couple of truly terrible efforts. That sent Egypt through to the final where they’ll meet Mane and Senegal.

And while Salah couldn’t force his side through with goals, he did play his part when Quieroz was gone. Now he just needs to show the same leadership in order to get past his most synonymous teammate.