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Mohamed Salah is expected to be back with a vengeance after his Africa Cup of Nations heartbreak, but as for a more motivated No. 11…Jurgen Klopp isn’t sure that’s human.
Salah wasted no time in making his way back to Liverpool after Sunday’s AFCON final, quickly putting his hand up for selection after a month that took a physical and emotional toll.
To lose in a penalty shootout in a final is a different kind of heartbreak and Liverpool noted that the winger was still feeling the defeat, as he has every right to.
“Mo is back, he trained yesterday and will train today,” Klopp told reporters of Salah.
“He is very disappointed obviously. It was a massive thing. Losing a final is always really, really hard – I can sing that song.
“But losing the way they lost it is especially hard and that’s what he felt as well. So yes, he is happy to be back but he is disappointed as well, massively so.
“We spoke obviously about the tournament and everything and we will see.
“He will deal with that, of course, and I hope that today it will already be better, but yesterday everybody could see he still has the final in his mind.”
But while the pain will linger, the fire in his belly will have not been extinguished in the slightest, but as for more fuel to the fire? Klopp isn’t sure that’s exactly human.
“Greater determination than Mo already had? I’m not sure that’s human,” the boss added on what the final defeat could mean for the No. 11 moving forward.
“The experience always, like playing a tournament, not knowing where it will go to then qualifying in the hardest possible manner for the final.
“Then against the favourite to win the tournament, playing a game like Egypt played was an absolutely great final when you think about what they already invested before, both teams, and how hard they fought.
“Especially Egypt, how hard they fought to keep them quiet, these incredible talents of Senegal.
“So yes, that all helps in the long term but I don’t think there’s a lot of space for more determination in Mo’s mind. He is very determined and using these kind of things is the job for all of us.
“When you lose a final, and we are obviously the best example for that, that’s really hard, really, really hard. But if you use it for the next big game or the next big tournament then it can be at least helpful even when it was still hard.
“He will benefit from it, we will benefit from it, but in which kind exactly, I don’t know.”
What you can count on is that his tally of 23 goals will be added to, and then some.
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