Liverpool head into pivotal week on a high and with Mohamed Salah firing

Saturday’s dismissal of Bournemouth together with Manchester City’s defeat at Chelsea means Klopp’s side will face Napoli in Tuesday’s decisive Champions League group game as Premier League leaders

Jurgen Klopp congratulates Mohamed Salah after his hat-trick (Reuters)

Top of the table and with Mohamed Salah once again demonstrating his exhilarating form of last season, Liverpool head into a week that will determine their future in Europe on a high.

Saturday’s comprehensive dismissal of Bournemouth together with Manchester City’s defeat at Chelsea means Klopp’s side will face Napoli in Tuesday’s decisive, final Champions League group game as Premier League leaders. The fact they can call on an in-form Salah, who confirmed he is back to his best with an outstanding hat-trick at the Vitality Stadium, when they face the Italians at Anfield only adds to the belief they can secure the victory they need and progress to the group stages of the competition.

If City’s loss at Stamford Bridge was an unexpected bonus to Klopp, Salah’s performance was something the manager had never doubted was coming. The Egypt forward’s displays this season have been compared unfavourably to last when he scored 41 goals. Klopp accepts it was inevitable the player would be judged against such extraordinary standards but believes a line can be drawn under any concerns Salah would regain his former levels.

“Some people judge always the moment,” said Klopp. “I’m interested in the moment but I never judge it because the moment is just a little part of what we do, what we have together. So I was not one second worried.

“We always have to develop, but to confirm or prove yourself again after a 41-goal season? Anybody would struggle. How would you prove it? If you score in the first five games ten goals, everybody would say ‘it could happen again’ but if you score 39 it would be ‘yeah, but it’s not 41’.

So we have all have to learn to deal with it and he has as well. He has never had a season like that, and if he wants to have the season again he has to do it step by step, that’s what we do and that’s what he is doing.”

Certainly there was no doubting the quality of Salah’s goals, particularly his second and third. The forward was fortunate not to have been flagged offside immediately before he followed up Roberto Firmino’s long range shot to give the Reds a 24th minute lead but there was no doubting the two remarkably composed finishes that capped driving runs – his hat-trick came after he skilfully rounded Bournemouth keeper Asmir Begovic – to wrap up a convincing win, either side of Steve Cook’s own-goal.

Mohamed Salah scored three times to take apart Bournemouth (Getty Images)

Klopp’s focus turned immediately towards Napoli, a game Liverpool must win by two goals, or by a 1-0 scoreline, to advance. Defeats in each of their three away games in Group C have left the Merseyside club in this precarious position and they will need a performance to match the ones they produced against Paris Saint Germain and Red Star Belgrade on home turf to succeed.

Klopp is in no doubt what is at stake. “It’s a massive game, a really massive game,” said Klopp. “Last year we did so many … we did nearly everything to get qualified for that tournament again, with the final in the bag but we always knew we to do the job first in the league. So now we have the chance with a specific result still to go through when this Champions League campaign so far has not really been ours. We have to earn it. In the home games so far we were quite impressive in both we played. This is our last one and I don’t think Napoli thinks ‘it’s only Liverpool’.”

“I believe in you get what you deserve, so that means if we are good enough, we will get the result we need and we will go through. And if we are not we have to congratulate Napoli and Paris. So that’s how it is. Now we have to show we really want to stay in that competition and that means we have to win it.”

Then Manchester United visit on Sunday. Back to back victories will only strengthen the belief that Klopp’s side can last the course this season.