'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has seemingly taken a thinly veiled dig at his predecessor Jurgen Klopp over the Premier League's 12:30 pm kickoff time. Former Reds boss Klopp repeatedly complained about his side's frequent selection for Saturday's 12:30 pm kickoff time.
Liverpool will travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon (October 5) which will be Slot's first experience of the early game after a Champions League fixture. However, the Dutchman took a much different approach compared to Klopp regarding the timing of the fixture. He said, as quoted by Tribal football:
"I don’t think it has so much to do with the 12.30 kick-offs. For me, it is that every away game is difficult. Because we play so many times then at 12.30pm, people talk about 12.30pm."
The former Feyenoord manager added:
"I think we have to talk about an away game because that is difficult. If 12.30pm was a difficult time to perform, then I’m a really stupid manager because we train every day at 12 o'clock! I don’t see the idea behind it being that difficult performing at that time."
Slot has enjoyed a solid start to life at Liverpool having replaced a managerial maestro like Klopp in the summer. The Merseyside giants have won eight of their first nine games across competitions under the Dutchman and sit at the top of the Premier League.
Real Madrid defender makes big claim regarding Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah
Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has claimed he is far from surprised with Mohamed Salah's attacking numbers at Liverpool. Salah has been one of the best players in world football since his reported £34.3 million switch from AS Roma in 2017.
Rudiger, who spent two years alongside Salah at AS Roma, recalled that the Egyptian was seemingly working on his end product in his final year at Roma. The former Chelsea defender said, as quoted by DaveOCKOP on Instagram:
“I’m really not surprised because we played two years together [at Roma]. In his second season you could see that this guy is on a different mission. He was more direct. In the first season, he was trying to do dribbling and stuff like this, beating men one-on-one. But in the second season, he was very direct. He just wanted goals and assists.”
“And obviously I didn’t know that he was thinking about Liverpool already, but one day he told me he was leaving to Liverpool. I remember that first season he had [scoring 44 goals]. I think he shocked the whole world. And so that’s why for me I wasn’t too surprised. And really, the crazy thing is that he got better and better every year,” Rudiger added.
Salah's consistency over the years has been nothing short of spectacular and he will certainly be remembered as one of the best players in Premier League history. The 'Egyptian King' has scored 217 goals and produced 94 assists in 358 games for the Reds to date.
