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Salah says the 2018 Champions...

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Salah says the 2018 Champions League final is "in the past"

Phil Egan
Phil Egan

12:52 30 Mar 2021


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Liverpool's Mohamed Salah insists revenge is not on his mind ahead of their Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid.

The two sides will meet in Spain next Tuesday in the first leg of their quarter-final in a repeat of the 2018 final.

Real won 3-1 in Kiev three years ago when Salah was forced off in the first half with a shoulder injury following a challenge by Sergio Ramos.

"That game is in the past, so I don’t think about it," Salah told Marca.

"I’m thinking about the team. Everyone is focused on their team and everyone wants to win… that’s it.

"What’s going to happen now isn’t going to change the result of the final in Kiev. That’s in the past.

"Let’s just say that I have special motivation to win the tie and go through to the semi-finals."

Liverpool bounced back from the disappointment of that defeat in Kiev to win the Champions League the following season with Salah on target in the 2-0 win over Tottenham in the 2019 final.

The 28-year-old says a lot has changed since that 2018 final in terms of personnel changes.

"They’ve lost some great players, like Cristiano Ronaldo – the best in the club’s history, someone that scored so many goals.

"At the same time, they’ve signed Hazard. Eden’s been unlucky, he’s been injured but it’s a different team.

"This team is in the quarter-finals, it has great players and although they’ve lost Ronaldo’s goals I can’t say which is better.

"Since then, we’ve won the Premier League and the Champions League. We’re winners. That’s a big change."

Salah was also asked about his future at Liverpool once again and the possibility of playing in Spain.

His reply is sure to fuel more speculation about where he will play in the coming years.

"I hope to be able to play for many more years," Salah said.

"Why not? No one knows what’s going to happen in the future. So maybe one day, yes. It’s not up to me.

"We’ll see what happens but I prefer not to talk about that now."

It's not too dissimilar from the answer he gave to Spanish outlet AS back in December when talking about his future he described Real Madrid and Barcelona as "two top clubs" and "who knows what will happen in the future."

On his relationship with Jurgen Klopp, Salah added: "It’s a normal relationship between two professionals. That’s how I’d describe it."

Liverpool return to Premier League action on Saturday night when they face Arsenal at the Emirates.

Jurgen Klopp's side are currently seventh in the table, five points off the top four so there's a strong possibility the Reds won't qualify for next season's Champions League unless of course, they win a seventh European Cup.


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Jurgen Klopp La Liga Liverpool Mo Salah Premier League Real Madrid Sergio Ramos

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