“Leave the Pressure Off the Field and Just Play Football”, Says Mohamed Salah

This week’s Champions League victory against Julian Nagelsmann’s RB Leipzig lifted moods for Reds’ fans and players alike. Star forward Mo Salah scored in both ties along with his front-three partner Sadio Mane, to help the Reds sail through to the quarters on a 4-0 aggregate. And his response to the game was hopeful.

“It’s really positive. To be fair, it’s a tough team, they play football, they make us run a lot today and we try to play our way, press high and get the ball and counter-attack”, he said.

He added, “I think we did well, we won the game – that’s the most important thing. It’s positive to take from that game and hopefully we can keep continuing with that in the Premier League as well.”

The win came through with the help of Fabinho, who returned to his no. 6 midfield role, and solid performances from young center-back duo Ozan Kabak and Nat Phillips. Finding this formula hasn’t come easy for the Reds recently, and Salah acknowledged that fact.

“I think it’s hard, we had a few players that got injured – Virg, Joe, Joel, then Hendo. We tried to play Hendo at centre-back and Fabinho from midfield to centre-back, so you lose Fabinho in the midfield. We had a few injuries this season, we were unlucky, but the most important thing is that we keep fighting.

“I know it’s really hard and everybody can see that but as [long] as everybody tries to give 100 per cent and keeps fighting in the game, I think we just need to take each game at a time and just focus on the next game.

“We don’t have to look at the big picture because sometimes when we look at the big picture, we get pressure and too much pressure we can carry on the pitch. But we just need to leave the pressure off the field and just play football.”

The pressure resumes in the Premier League next week, where Liverpool sits 8th in the league table with 10 games to go.

“It’s been tough in the Premier League, everybody can see that”, Salah said.

“We don’t want it to be tough but it’s a part of the game. The last couple of years we were winning, we were flying. This year, we had a few injuries, so we were unlucky. You have young players and they are really playing good but sometimes you struggle to put someone in centre-back. But now we have two centre-backs or three or four – hopefully now we can keep winning.”