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Manchester City defender Nathan Ake recently commented on the difficulty of facing Mohamed Salah following Liverpool's 1-1 draw against the Cityzens at the Etihad on Saturday, November 25.
Erling Haaland (27') and Trent Alexander-Arnold (80') scored one goal apiece during the Premier League blockbuster clash. Ake provided a brilliant assist for the former to break the deadlock but was primarily tasked with containing Mohamed Salah defensively.
Despite his best efforts, Salah was able to provide an assist to Alexander-Arnold, getting Liverpool back into the game. The 31-year-old also created three big chances, completed 75% of his dribbles, and won six duels.
Following the game, Ake said (via HITC):
“It’s tough, it’s always tough. We have had some great battles over the years and it’s always a good challenge, today was no different. It’s difficult because, especially we have the ball, he tried to get on the ball. He tried to get on the ball and play."
He added:
“But, at the back of your mind, you have to know that he is ready to counter. When we lose the ball, he is straight away on the run. It’s so difficult. You have to be concentrated for 90 minutes. Then when he gets the ball and runs at you with pace, it’s difficult because he can change direction so quickly. It’s a difficult task.”
Salah has had an exceptional start to the season for Liverpool so far, scoring 12 goals and providing five assists in 18 appearances across all competitions.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp provides injury updates on 2 stars following Manchester City draw
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp provided injury updates on Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota after both stars picked up knocks during the Reds' 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Saturday.
Jota went down in the 54th minute with what appeared to be a muscle injury in his leg. He was immediately substituted for Luis Diaz. On the other hand, Alisson felt his hamstring after miscuing a clearance in stoppage time but bravely played on due to Jurgen Klopp using up all five of his substitutions.
The German tactician said (via Liverpool's official website):
“The shadow on this game is obviously that Ali felt something and Diogo felt something – something we have to assess and then we will see.”
On Alisson, he added:
“I hope it’s not that serious, but I don’t have the answer – no clue in the moment what it is. I spoke to him and he said he only felt [it] a little bit, but we have to wait for the scan.”
Both Alisson and Jota are unlikely to feature in the Reds' next fixture against LASK in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, November 30.
