Bournemouth’s English defender Steve Cook (L) appeals for offside as Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (R) shoots past Bournemouth’s Bosnian-Herzegovinian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic (C) to score the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on December 8, 2018. Glyn KIRK / AFP

Jurgen Klopp hailed Mohamed Salah after his hat-trick against Bournemouth on Saturday propelled Liverpool to the top of the Premier League.

The Egyptian opened his account midway through the first half, netting the rebound after Asmir Begovic parried Roberto Firmino’s fierce shot.

He doubled Liverpool’s lead shortly after half-time with a neat finish and following a Steve Cook own goal, scored his 10th goal of the Premier League season after beating Begovic twice to complete a 4-0 win.

The victory took Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table ahead of Manchester City’s match against Chelsea later on Saturday.

Klopp described Salah’s performance as “brilliant”.

“The whole game was brilliant from him today — not only the goals,” he told the BBC. “He wanted to help with runs in behind and him scoring three goals is big for him and very important for us.”

Liverpool face a tough week ahead — they play Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday with their hopes of progressing to the knockout phase in the balance and Manchester United next weekend.

“It is always a huge week,” said Klopp. “Napoli is a tough one and then Man United — we all know what can happen there. Hopefully, we can stay fit. Let’s go for it.”

AFP