Roy Keane was not impressed with Mo Salah's reaction, as the Liverpool player snubbed Jurgen Klopp after being substituted at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend.
Salah did not get his traditional opening day goal as Liverpool got their Premier League campaign underway with an entertaining 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Salah did, however, lay on a stunning assist for Luis Diaz to open the scoring against the Pensioners. The Egyptian's immaculate through ball found Diaz in behind, with the Colombian stretching impressively to put Liverpool ahead.
From one end to the other in the blink of an eye and Luis Díaz makes no mistake with the finish! ⚡ pic.twitter.com/IiPcv5Fugs
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 13, 2023
Chelsea debutant Axel Disasi equalised with a similarly impressive stretch just before the break, while both Salah and Chelsea's Ben Chilwell had first-half goals ruled out.
Salah will have been frustrated not to get the opening day goal which has been customary for him ever since joining Liverpool in 2017, and his frustration showed when he was withdrawn with just under 15 minutes to go at the Bridge.
Though Roy Keane and the Sky Sports panel said they understood his reaction, Keane issued a warning to the Liverpool forward.
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Chelsea v Liverpool: Roy Keane questions Mo Salah reaction to substitution
When Klopp withdrew Mo Salah for Harvey Elliot after 76 minutes, the Liverpool star ripped the tape off his hands and petulantly threw it to the pitch in frustration.
As Salah left the pitch, he and Klopp appeared to give each other the cold shoulder, with Salah clearly unhappy with his manager's decision to substitute him.
Mo Salah is NOT happy with being subbed off 😳 pic.twitter.com/QpZuI17qWE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 13, 2023
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Elliott showed energy off the bench, but was ultimately unable to bring Liverpool any closer to a breakthrough, as the points were shared on the opening day.
In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was asked about the incident, and laughed it off, saying he understood Salah's disappointment.
Klopp did nonetheless reiterate that he had put the interests of the team ahead of Salah's potential goal threat, and his pursuit of a Premier League record:
If Mo scores, it would have been a record of scoring in the first game...I can understand it [his reaction].
But in that moment, I did not think about it, to be honest. We needed stability. We needed stability and, again, fresh legs, it was super intense for everybody.
That's all I can say. But his reaction was absolutely okay. When a player for the first time comes off and is jumping into my arms, at 1-1, when they're a striker, and they think they will score, then I will be really surprised.
After Klopp spoke to Sky, the panel of Daniel Sturridge, Micah Richards, and Roy Keane were asked for their take on the incident. Sturridge and Richards both said that they understood the reaction from Salah - though they did poke fun at Keane by using his infamous "big baby" line to describe the incident.
Full marks to Daniel Sturridge for the Roy Keane impression 😂 pic.twitter.com/beJiMVNYdv
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 13, 2023
Keane himself largely agreed in understanding Salah's disappointment - but warned the Liverpool star not to make a habit of such reactions:
We've said it before. We've seen players get taken off - particularly at Liverpool - and I think it's okay to be upset.
But don't keep it up for too long. He was shaking his head sitting on the bench, with his arms up in the air. Sit down and shut up. You have to take it, be upset for a little bit but don't drag it out.
We've seen other players doing that - a lot better players than Salah getting taken off. It's all part of the game.
Mo Salah will be crucial if Liverpool are to bounce back from their unexpectedly poor performance last season, so fans will hope that his bad blood with Jurgen Klopp was indeed just a flash in the pan.
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