Mohamed Salah's insistence that his best position is on the right wing rings eerily-familiar after he helped Liverpool to defeat Napoli.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has deployed the Egyptian through the middle in recent weeks as he searched for a system that could finally kick-start Liverpool's season. But he returned to a traditional 4-3-3 formation on Tuesday night for the visit of the Serie A leaders.
That saw Salah moved back out to the right, with Roberto Firmino starting through the middle and Curtis Jones on the left. Klopp's decision to revert back eventually paid dividends, with Salah opening the scoring for the hosts.
He forced the ball home after Alex Meret had spilled Virgil van Dijk's header to set the Reds on their way to a win. And after the game, Salah made it clear that he wants to stay in his natural position out wide.
“Any position makes me comfortable. I’m happy about it. I’ve played the position for five or six years, so I have to say yes that position is the best for me. But I’m not the manager – the manager decides the tactics and as a player you have to follow the leader,” he told BT Sport.
It is not the first time that Salah has told Klopp where he wishes to play, with the 30-year-old having described himself as the 'best in the world' in his position back in April. He was crowned the PFA's Player of the Year last season, having scored 31 goals in all competitions.
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And after being handed the prestigious award, Salah left Klopp in no doubt about the secret behind his success. The Liverpool star insisted he was the leading right-winger in the game, with his goals proving his point.
“If you compare me with any player in my position, not only in my team but in the world, you will find that I am the best. I always focus on my work and do my best, and my numbers are the best proof of my words,” he told beIN SPORTS.
“I like to always create a new challenge for me, to work in a different way and to make a difference, and that is my duty.”
Tuesday's win over Napoli further added to Salah's claims with his starring role for the hosts. And the attacker is hopeful that the victory can help to turnaround Liverpool's stuttering season.
"I think it’s important that win today gives us more confidence. Especially, we played a good game with and without the ball, tried to recover the ball quick. As you can see in the league we’re not doing great but hopefully this can give us a push," he told BT Sport.
"We just need to win more games in the league. Winning the game is the most important thing for team, as a striker I like to score, Darwin [Nunez] likes to score. It’s good we both scored. In the end we just got the result, which is important.
"To win against one of the best teams in the world, one of the best coaches in the world, it’s always a good feeling. Just need to carry on, gives us confidence and we need to move on now. We just need to carry on."
