Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed the “pure quality” of Mohamed Salah as the forward prepares to face his favoured opposition Manchester United.
The German also praised the way his team coped without their leading scorer for the two months he was absent first at the Africa Cup of Nations and then with a hamstring problem sustained at the tournament.
Salah scored and had three assists in his first 90 minutes since New Year’s Day in the 6-1 Europa League demolition of Sparta Prague but Sunday’s FA Cup trip to Old Trafford will offer a better barometer of whether he is back to his sharpest.
The Egypt international will be relishing the game as he has scored more goals for Liverpool against United – a club-record 12 in 13 appearances – than any other team.
“Super good, you saw it last night. How many goals did he set up first half? He scored and was involved in all the others pretty much. Exceptional,” said Klopp.
“I would have loved to take him off but it was not possible because of Bobby’s situation (midfielder Bobby Clark had a minor problem) and he could manage that pretty well – even then he set up another goal which was offside.
“Mo is pure quality. Ask him what he likes most about Man Utd but the more we talk about it the less likely it will happen again. Exceptional guy, world-class player and how we dealt without him was unbelievable. Unbelievable.
“The boys did really well – but it is better to have him around and on the pitch than just in the dressing room.”
Salah and Darwin Nunez’s nine goals in his last 11 appearances should at least pose a significant threat at Old Trafford.
United are the only team in the last 55 matches to prevent Liverpool scoring, although since that goalless draw at Anfield in December they are on a run of 20 games with a goal.
Klopp said that day was the beginning of phase two of their season, even if ultra-defensive opponents frustrated them.
“I don’t know in the moment if we can play the same game again, it was a really good game,” he added.
“I would call this game the start of when we reached the next level for the season. Until then we were quite OK, we only lost one game, but it was still ‘Ah, sometimes really good, sometimes not so good’.
“It was difficult to judge us: we had so many things to overcome like red cards, being 1-0 down, so it was not clear how good we actually are.
“That game I first saw that was really us in the next gear. The result didn’t show that and I have no clue whether it will be the same game – I don’t expect it, obviously it’s a home game for them.
“But a lot of aspects in our game that day were really good and these aspects we try to bring on the pitch again.
“But the opponent had a full week to prepare, they might do a few things differently and then we have to adapt to that.”
Liverpool are chasing an unprecedented quadruple and Friday’s Europa League draw, a quarter-final versus Atalanta which could be followed by a semi-final against Benfica or Marseille, has made them even stronger favourites for that competition.
“Tricky but Atalanta we played there (in 2020) – not that I watched them since then 500 times, but still the same manager, pretty sure a similar structure so it means uncomfortable to play against, very well organised,” he said.
“It is a quarter-final – I didn’t expect any easy opponent. I have a lot of respect for what Atalanta is doing in the last years, very consistent.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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