Jurgen Klopp has reserved special praise for Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for his display last night.
Speaking post-game to BT Sport (1min 10secs), Klopp says Liverpool would have scored more if not for the Greek stopper.
“The goalie (Vlachodimos) was probably the best player. They played a really good game, but the goalie was anyway the best player, he made a couple of really good saves,” said Klopp.
“With the situations we had we usually score more, but we didn’t, I think mainly because of the goalie, credit to him and that’s pretty much the story.”
Klopp is right. But for the Benfica ‘keeper, Liverpool could and probably should, have been out of sight.
Salah out of sorts
Vlachodimos made five saves during the game. The best of which was probably his last minute stop on Diogo Jota to prevent a fourth goal for Liverpool.
Otherwise, he proved to be Mohamed Salah’s nemesis on the night. The forward had a great chance to put Liverpool 3-0 must as he raced onto a sensational ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold at the end of the first-half.
You’d have usually backed him to score without trouble. But the finish was weak and Vlachodimos was able to turn it away.
It was another example that the Egyptian is going through something of a rough patch for Liverpool. After such a blistering campaign up until this point, he now has just one goal in his last nine games for club and country.
In need of a break, but unlikely to get one
Mo’s form isn’t necessarily a huge problem as Liverpool are still managing to score plenty of goals. But as Jurgen Klopp prepares his side for a huge month, they could really do with Mo finding his shooting boots again.
The likely issue is that Salah is drained after an emotionally difficult couple of months with Egypt. He potentially needs a break for a game or two. But with such big games coming up in such a short period, he’s unlikely to get the rest he needs.
His contract situation is possibly affecting him too. At least there was some positive updates about that to report yesterday. Hopefully it can be settled soon.
Liverpool don’t have a like-for-like swap for him on the right-side of the attack. Klopp may need to come up with some creative solutions to keep his talisman in the best shape possible for the run-in.
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