Last night, Jurgen Klopp lauded Mohamed Salah as a ‘goal-scoring machine’ after the Egyptian scored twice and assisted once to keep Liverpool top of the Premier League before going for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo both scored for Liverpool, who piled up 7.27 expected goals (xG) – the most ever in a Premier League game – as Klopp waxed poetic over his departing talisman.

‘Mo is a goal scoring machine,’ said Klopp. ‘It’s completely unique. Darwin (Nunez) had his chances as well. 99.9% of players would have finished it, yet he chose to pass it (for Salah’s opening). ‘Special game, special evening,’ says the announcer.

Salah missed a penalty in the first half, but changed his boots at halftime and credited his heroics in the second half to the superstitious act. ‘In the locker room, the players discussed. We have to keep our cool. ‘I dropped the pen,’ Salah acknowledged.

“Do you want to leave for the national team with that performance?” At halftime, I said. Absolutely not! So I had to focus hard, step forward, and make a difference, which I did. I changed my shoes. I simply practiced with the second pen I forgot about yesterday.

Following Liverpool’s victory over Newcastle, Jurgen Klopp described Mohamed Salah as a “goal-scoring machine.”

The German was thrilled with his team’s 4-2 victory and called it a “special night.”

‘It’s not superstitious because I wear a lot of boots,’ says the author. But if I get the impression it’s going to mess with my head… Go change your boots now! But I don’t want to look back on the second half of this game and think, “I didn’t score with this.” So I just kept my thoughts quiet and focused on the game.’

‘We believe a lot,’ Salah remarked when asked about a title run. We have a lot of talent; all they have to do is work hard. They simply need to express themselves and play football on the field. We will be a winning (team) if we can accomplish it and work hard.’

Meanwhile, Eddie Howe said that Kieran Trippier is out with a groin injury and that Callum Wilson will miss two more games. ‘It was a very wonderful performance from Liverpool; they made it incredibly difficult for us,’ said Newcastle manager Steve Bruce.

‘Our spirit and devotion were at an all-time high; it wasn’t our best performance, but we put in a lot of effort. Today, we were inundated with questions on their mobility and quality. They’re a team that examines you from every perspective.’

Eddie Howe critiqued his team’s performance but praised their effort.