Jurgen Klopp has joked Mohamed Salah found a right foot on holiday as he hailed the forward s continued development ahead of Monday s trip to Manchester United.
Salah has picked up from where he left off last season with two goals and an assist in Liverpool s opening three games of the 2022-23 campaign.
The Egypt international has also created 12 chances across those three outings, which is five more than next-best Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Indeed, only Borussia Monchengladbach s Alassane Plea and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar (both 13) have created more chances this term across Europe s top five leagues.
And as Salah looks to match Thierry Henry in winning the Premier League Golden Boot for a record fourth time, Klopp believes the 30-year-old is only getting better with time.
I think he found a right foot on holiday. He always develops. It s really crazy, Klopp told Sky Sports.
This year he arrived with crosses with his right foot. He s obviously a top professional and he really tries to add on things into his game.
He is a top, top, top striker and with the numbers he had, not only scoring-wise but assisting-wise as well, it s big.
Salah has scored eight goals in his past four games against United in all competitions, netting six of those at Old Trafford, including a hat-trick in this fixture last season.
He has nine goals against United overall and could become the first Liverpool player ever to reach double figures against their fierce rivals.
I m pretty sure he knows that, Klopp said what that statistic was put to him. I didn t know it but I m pretty sure Mo knows it, so good news!
Salah signed a new three-year deal at Anfield last month, coming on the back of fellow forward Sadio Mane s departure to Bayern Munich.
Liverpool offset that exit by bringing in Darwin Nunez from Benfica, while Luis Diaz has made a big impact since arriving from Porto midway through last season.
Diaz rescued Liverpool a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Monday after Nunez was sent off and Klopp has been impressed by his swift adaptation to a new league.
He had to play immediately because [Salah and Mane] were at the Africa Cup of Nations, so that helped him settle in, Klopp said.
That gave him immediate confidence. It s his quality, his talent, his skill set. He s a really good player. We knew it before and when you re really good it s easier to settle in.
He has this special thing: He can score from outside the box, which for a striker is really important. He s very, very important for us.
