Arne Slot hails ‘outstanding’ Liverpool star after reaching historic record in Champions League win

Liverpool manager Arne Slot was impressed by his side’s efforts in their 2-1 Champions League win over Lille and singled out one individual in particular.
The Reds have made a mockery of the new European format, winning all seven of their games to top the table and reaffirm their status as potential favourites to win the competition.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and a deflected goal from Harvey Elliott were enough to see off a tricky Lille side who were 20 games unbeaten heading into the game at Anfield.
Liverpool-linked Jonathan David briefly threatened the home side after he equalised in the second half after Lille had been reduced to 10 men, adding the Merseyside club to his impressive list of teams he has managed to score against in the competition this season.
Salah, who opened the scoring in the first half after he was sent through on goal after a brilliant pass from Curtis Jones, notched his 50th goal in the Champions League, moving him into the top 10 scorers of all time in the competition’s history.
And Slot was overjoyed with his contribution after the game, claiming he is deadly in one-on-one situations.
‘He’s been outstanding for this club for so many years and still he does it. Today, great goal. If Mo goes on a one-versus-one there’s a serious chance that he’s going to score.’
‘The work-rate from the players who won the ball back before Curtis (Jones) gave the great pass to Mo also shows you why we are doing really well.’
Liverpool has one final game against PSV Eindhoven to come, but they have already consolidated their position in the Round of 16. They have confirmed their finish in the top eight positions, bypassing the first knockout phase.
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Yet, Slot is still cautious about their future in the competition. He sent a warning regarding the future draw, which could see them face any number of quality sides who could finish outside the top eight.
‘We are in a new format where some teams are high in the league because they had a lucky draw or some are low because they had a difficult draw,’ he said.
‘So it’s far off to say it’s an advantage to be one or two (in the league) because we still don’t know yet. You might be lucky, you might be very unlucky (with the draw).’
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Salah’s incredible form continues
The Egyptian King has now registered 22 goals and 17 assists in just 31 matches in all competitions, making him Europe’s leader for goal contributions. He was seen tapping the badge during his celebration and fans will hope that is some indication that he wants to remain at the club beyond his current contract.
If so, he could go on to achieve more records. He needs just four more goals in the competition at Anfield to become the player with the most Champions League goals scored for an English team at a single stadium.
Only Ruud van Nistelrooy (23) and Sergio Aguero (23) have more for Manchester United and City respectively.
His strike also saw him move ahead of Thierry Henry when it came to goal contributions; Salah now has 68 which is one more than the former Arsenal and Barcelona striker.