Jurgen Klopp Praises 'Exceptional' Mohamed Salah After Record-Breaking Goal

Liverpool ended their Champions League group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw with Danish side Midtjylland on Wednesday evening.

The Reds had already secured top spot ahead of the game and so Jurgen Klopp opted to field a rotated side for the game, but it was Mohamed Salah who opened the scoring after a matter of seconds. His goal was cancelled out midway through the second half, before Takumi Minamino had what would have been a late winner ruled out for offside.

Here's what Klopp had to say after the game.

On the Performance

"Two different halves, completely different," he said (via the club's official website). "I liked the football we played in the first half, especially with the so-much-changed team we had tonight. The way we played, the way the boys adapted, not to forget that Takumi Minamino played now only the second time in that position – once in Brighton, which was a different game, and tonight it looked already much better.

"I really like the football we played first half, we had really big… if it’s not a chance then nearly a chance, I’m not sure what is the English word for that. But we had a lot of these moments which we could have used in a better way and that was good.

"We wanted to build on that in the second half and that didn’t work out. We didn’t play football anymore and Midtjylland became even more physical, pretty direct. We didn’t defend their throw-ins that good anymore, it’s not rocket science that they always try to switch the sides with these balls, it’s just that if you don’t defend on the one side then you have to run to the other side and defend it there and that’s much more intense."

On Salah's Latest Record

Salah became Liverpool's leading scorer in Champions League history when he netted his 22nd goal for the Reds, moving him one ahead of Anfield legend Steven Gerrard.

"One record after the other. I didn’t know that he could break this record tonight but I’m pretty sure he is proud of that. He should be. Exceptional player, absolutely exceptional player. Since we worked together obviously a lot of things clicked really for all of us. He helps the team massively and he knows and appreciates the help of the team as well.

"If we would have only Mo, even the incredible number of goals he got would not have been enough to be as successful as we were so thank God others scored a lot of goals as well. That made this team pretty successful but that Mo is a very exceptional player - I think nobody doubted it, but if you need numbers to prove it then he delivers that as well."

On Good Form Despite Injuries

"Honestly it’s absolutely not the moment to think about this kind of thing. We played a game with a good first half and a not-so-good second half. We got a point for it… but now Fulham is already in my mind so I cannot really think about what happened so far. To be with whoever at the top of the table is always good in each part of the season, so that’s OK.

"We feel we could have had even more points: we lost completely deserved at Villa, a point at [Manchester] City was OK - but Brighton and Everton, performance-wise and situation-wise we could have or should have, I’m not sure, won. So we could have more but that’s the past and now it’s Fulham, and they expect our full focus and they will get it. From now on, that’s it."

On Champions League Debuts for Clarkson & Koumetio

Academy midfielder Leighton Clarkson started the game at the base of Liverpool's midfield, while centre-back Billy Koumetio came off the bench to make his own Champions League debut.

"They will [learn from the game] and especially if we let them make the experience without now making this one game too big. It’s a wonderful, wonderful thing to have your first Champions League game but a career is all about how many you will have or how many games overall you will play. So both boys have a lot to learn.

"They are already really skilled but they have a lot to learn and we will give them the time to do so. Again, tonight they helped us a lot because we could rest other players which was very important and there was actually no alternative. So yeah, I’m pretty sure it was a big night for both of them and I am really thankful that they are already as good as they are. That’s the reason why we can use them, but I know there is a lot more to come."

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