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Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp defended forward Mohamed Salah on allegations that he had deliberately fallen into the penalty area to obtain penalties.
Salah won a penalty in the game against Maitland in the Champions League on Tuesday, before the same thing happened against West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday.
“The ball on which Salah was blocked in West Ham’s penalty area is a clear violation of all who saw it,” Klopp told a news conference Monday.
He added: “I spoke to Salah yesterday about how he feels, and believe it or not, he said he had been hit three times and one of them was from a penalty position.”
He continued: “There was a clear friction between Arthur Masuako and Salah, so I do not understand the criticism that was made.”
For his part, West Ham United defender Masuako claimed responsibility for the penalty taken by Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah in the two teams’ meeting in the English Premier League.
Liverpool overcame their deficit against West Ham with a two-goal win at Anfield, and Salah was the Reds’ first goal.
Masuako posted his photo after Salah tweeted on his personal Twitter account and commented on it, saying, “I still feel angry at myself for what happened.”
He added, “a disappointing result after our good start to the match.”
The Congolese defender’s words came against those of his coach David Moyes, who believed that Salah did not deserve a penalty.
“I don’t think the game deserves a penalty,” Moyes said in featured comments by the Daily Mail.
“I think Salah dropped to the ground,” added the West Ham coach.
He added: “Masuako stopped because he expected the referee to do something about the way Salah fell, but the decision was in favor of Liverpool.”
Salah took the penalty himself and scored it as usual in the middle of the goal, to tie with Liverpool, who were behind with a goal from Pablo Fornals from minute ten.
Mohamed Salah’s seventh goal in the league this season was the second scorer behind Son Heung-min, and the eighth overall.
The goal is his 102nd with the Liverpool jersey in various tournaments since joining the team.
The victory raised Liverpool’s balance to 16th point at the top of the Premier League rankings, while West Ham’s balance froze at eighth point at 15th place.
Liverpool are preparing to face Atalanta in the third round of the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.
