Liverpool faced Norwich City in the FA Cup last night without Mo Salah and Jurgen Klopp was praying for the game to finish inside 90 minutes.
The Reds were involved in a gruelling game with Chelsea on Sunday where they were forced into extra time and then to penalties. Klopp’s men won the game and were overjoyed, but it really did take a lot of out of them.
The last thing Liverpool needed last night was another game that went to extra time. The Reds went 2-0 up in the first half and a win looked a formality at that point. However, Norwich pulled one back in the 76th minute and that’s when Klopp felt a bit of nerves on the touchline.
Thankfully for him, his lads saw the game out and progressed into the next round. After the game, Klopp joked that extra time would’ve been a guarantee if Mo Salah was in the squad.
Jurgen Klopp: If Mo Salah played yesterday, Liverpool would’ve had to play extra time
Asked if he feared going into extra time for the second game in a row, Klopp told LFCTV GO: “Not fear but worry.
“(I was like) ‘please don’t, don’t do that’.
“I’m pretty sure that if Mo (Salah) was involved in the squad, we would’ve had extra time.
“He has played five times in the last month, 120 minutes with penalties. I’m really happy we could avoid that tonight.”
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Salah’s Egypt were made to work hard at AFCON and were forced to extra time and penalties on more than one occasion.
The Egyptian had to endure the same against Chelsea as well in the Carabao Cup final last Sunday.
Klopp may just be right, had Salah featured, Liverpool may have had to play for another 30 minutes and then get themselves involved in a shootout. They would’ve still probably won though.
Salah will return for the game against West Ham this weekend and Klopp will not have to worry about extra time then. However, he will be hoping to get all three points to keep pace with Manchester City, who are in touching distance now.
