Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has told Mohamed Salah 's critics to quiet down after his ex-teammate scored a sensational six-minute hat-trick.
Salah stunningly set a new Champions League record in the latter stages of the Reds' rip-roaring 7-1 win against Rangers on Wednesday, with the Egyptian's hat-trick in Glasgow officially the fastest in the competition's prestigious history. Salah's heroics were made even more astonishing by the fact he'd only come off the bench in the 68th minute, as Jurgen Klopp 's side cruised to victory after initially falling behind to Scott Arfield 's 17th-minute opener.
The 30-year-old's super sub appearance boosted Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, while also serving as a boost to his own confidence. Salah was taken off by Klopp during Sunday's damning 3-2 defeat to Arsenal and has come in for criticism due to his goal-shy displays. But it seems that old pal Lovren never doubted him.
"15 minutes of playing time, hat-trick from Mo Salah! Haters, just continue. Only the opposite will happen," the Zenit St Petersburg centre-back - who left Anfield after six years in the summer of 2020 - wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a shushing emoji. "Well done LFC."
Salah also received praise from Klopp post-match, who labelled his cameo a "special" one. "Typical Mo. Very important, the whole thing," the Reds boss affirmed. "How the boys adapted to it, to the positions, to the line-up, the reaction of the boys on the pitch. I thought everybody who started tonight played really well.
"I cannot think of one player who didn't have a good game; the two kids of the right and left wing, really good, Fabio [Carvalho] and Harvey [Elliott]. And then when you can change like we changed tonight, if you can do that, the boys come on and are ready to contribute and things like this can happen.
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"It's a freak result and we all know that and we don't make more of it than we should, but obviously it is the best we could have asked for and that is why I am pretty pleased," the manager added.
With Liverpool currently languishing in 10th place in the Premier League after a tricky start to the season, Klopp's side welcome Manchester City on Sunday - arguably the toughest opposition in world football right now. But the Anfield gaffer is feeling confident that his Reds have their mojo back, adding: "[The win] changed the mood, definitely. It is completely different.
"We usually drink a beer after away games, but it is that long ago that I drank beer and I probably will be drunk after one! Yes, it changes the mood completely and that's good, but we all know who we are welcoming [to Anfield] on Sunday and this will be a different game, we know that. It is better to go into a game with the feeling we’ve got tonight than any other."
