Pep Lijnders reacted to Mohamed Salah's dreadful day as Liverpool were well beaten
Pep Lijnders was overseeing the clash with Pep Guardiola banned(Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Pep Lijnders was overseeing the clash with Pep Guardiola banned(Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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Manchester City assistant manager Pep Lijnders believes Mohamed Salah deserves to be shown respect as he plays out the remainder of his Liverpool career.
Salah, who announced last week he will leave at the end of the season, suffered a miserable afternoon as he missed a penalty and a number of other chances as the Reds were beaten 4-0 at Manchester City in their FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday lunchtime.
Lijnders worked with the Egyptian during his time with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool where they swept the board of major honours.
And Lijnders – who took charge of City on the touchline with Pep Guardiola serving a ban – hopes Salah will have a fitting send-off after nine years at Anfield.
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“I hope so,” he said. “He had seven or eight years at Liverpool wining the biggest trophies you can win in style. He will get all that (respect).
“It’s nice for all the players who were in that generation of team (to get that respect). They all deserve that.”
Liverpool were the better team in the first half before capitulating by conceding four goals in 20 minutes either side of half-time as City reached an eighth successive FA Cup semi-final.
And of City’s tactics, he said: “How we dealt with how they tried to put players down the sides, how we controlled that and how we were always still able to go high.
“(Another semi-final) is a sign of a really consistent and quality team. The FA Cup is so special, especially for the fans to have a nice day travelling again. Wembley is a special place and it shouldn’t be take it for granted.
“This is a new team with a lot of settled players now. It’s a compliment to them how we have all grown together. We have a lot of new players who can make that step.
“The senior players owned the responsibility of the team and they see each game as a final and when that happens the new players will grow with that.”
Going into the game, Erling Haaland had scored only five goals since Christmas but netted a first hat-trick for City since August 2024.
And Lijnders added: “It is crazy what we ask of him. We ask a lot of him (here) and to do that every three days, it’s clear throughout a long season not everything will go your way. But it shows character and mentality that he comes back like he has. He is a machine to work with and I like guys who train like that.
“The second goal he was in sync, the way he attacks, the way he flies, the way he puts the ball into the corner, I love these old school striker goals.”