Mohamed Salah had supreme confidence as he stepped up to fire home two penalties on the way to a hat-trick to secure Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Leeds on Saturday.
After a slow pre-season, Salah was back with a bang as the Premier League kicked off at Anfield.
The Reds’ opponents were newly promoted Leeds, and with the game played behind closed doors, both sides put their foot down for a high-intensity, end-to-end clash.
It took a measure of luck and the quality of Salah to seal the three points for Liverpool, with the Egyptian producing a stunning finish in between two ice-cold penalties to take the match ball home.
And speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the No. 11 explained how he was able to step up with such composure, arguing that his penalty in the Champions League final in Madrid brought considerably more pressure.
“I scored a penalty in a Champions League final, so that’s a little bit easier—especially with no fans!” he said.
“It’s more important for me to just keep focus and score the goal to get the three points.”
Salah was full of praise for Leeds, who took the game to Liverpool but tired late on, with new signing Rodrigo bringing down Fabinho in the closing stages to hand the champions the win.
“Tough team. They play football, press high as well, so the intensity of the game was really high,” he continued.
“We shouldn’t concede three, but this was the game and we had to react, and we did a good job.
“They had a great game, especially playing at Anfield, with no fans but they played away.
“They scored three goals against us, which is huge. I’m happy with the result, we have to keep improving.”
The winger’s emphasis on focus and improvement is exemplary, as despite scoring three to bring his tally to 97 goals in 154 games for the Reds, Salah is still looking to get better.
With few changes at Liverpool so far this summer, this is the mentality Jurgen Klopp‘s squad will need, along with the confidence Salah showed from the spot.
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