Alan Shearer believes that Jurgen Klopp antagonized Mohamed Salah prior to their altercation during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at West Ham.
Liverpool endured another frustrating outcome in East London on Sunday, relinquishing two more points in the title race after being equalized by David Moyes’ Hammers.
Jarrod Bowen provided the hosts with the lead on the brink of halftime, but Liverpool seized the advantage with 25 minutes remaining, courtesy of Andy Robertson’s equalizer and an Alphonse Areola own goal.
However, Michail Antonio’s exceptional 77th-minute header secured West Ham a point and inflicted another setback on Liverpool’s title aspirations.
The Reds currently trail Manchester City by one point, with City holding two games in hand, and are two points behind leaders Arsenal, who have one game in hand.
Liverpool supporters will also be displeased by an incident at the London Stadium involving Klopp and Salah, as they engaged in a touchline argument while the latter was preparing to come on.
Salah has amassed 210 goals in 346 appearances throughout his illustrious Liverpool tenure and currently leads the club’s scoring charts this season with 24 goals in all competitions. However, akin to several of his teammates, his performance has experienced a decline in recent weeks, leading to him and fellow forward Darwin Nunez being omitted from the squad for the match against West Ham.
The Egyptian, relegated to the bench due to a string of underwhelming performances, expressed his frustration towards Klopp, with the two ignoring each other as the manager made his way onto the pitch after the final whistle.
Following the game, the Liverpool forward hinted at his displeasure with Klopp by refusing to give an interview in the mixed zone, but he did make a statement: “If I speak today there will be fire.”
Speaking about the incident publicly for the first time, Premier League icon and former England striker Shearer implied that Klopp may have provoked Salah, suggesting that the Egyptian would have been frustrated after being left out of the game.
“We don’t know what Klopp has said to him there, he’s said something that has riled him,” Shearer shared his opinion on BBC’s Match of the Day.
“He’s obviously got the right hump with being left out and probably rightly so. Even though he hasn’t hit the heights that Mo Salah has done over the years, he’s been unbelievable.
“He ignores Jurgen, gives the Liverpool fans a little round of applause and goes straight down the tunnel but we’re guessing as to what Jurgen said to him.
“I understand if Mo has got the right hump because the number of times he’s been Liverpool’s saviour and Liverpool’s superstar… He’s got 17 in 25 league starts.
“Anyone else you’d look at that and think that was unbelievable. It’s a shame it’s going to end like that.”
Meanwhile, Klopp stated that he had a conversation with Salah in the dressing room following the unexpected altercation and indicated that the issue was now resolved.
“We spoke already in the dressing room and for me it’s done for me,” Klopp said. ‘That’s all and that is it.”
Queried if Salah was okay with the situation: “That was my impression, yes.”
Liverpool have three remaining fixtures under Klopp’s management, kicking off with a visit to Tottenham next weekend.
In other news, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright blast Anthony Taylor for error that denied goal scoring opportunity
