"We are here to win a game" - Jurgen Klopp gives his take on Mo Salah's angry reaction to being substituted in Liverpool's draw with Chelsea

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has explained his star attacker Mohamed Salah's reaction to being substituted during his team's 2023-24 Premier League opener against Chelsea on Sunday (August 13).

In a blockbuster Premier League showdown at Stamford Bridge, the Reds opened the scoring via Luis Diaz in the 18th minute off a Salah assist. Ten minutes later, the Egyptian thought he had doubled his team's lead, only for VAR to rule out his effort. Chelsea defender Axel Disasi restored parity eight minutes from the break.

With Salah visibly tiring, Klopp pulled him out of action in the 77th minute, only for the Egyptian to throw the tape around his right wrist onto the pitch. Salah also ignored his manager on the way to the dugout.

The Egyptian forward, who has scored in a record six successive Premier League opening-day fixtures, was looking to break a tie with Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard (eight apiece) for most league goals on the opening day. He was also looking to score his 187th goal for the Reds, overtaking Steven Gerrad (186) for the fifth position in Liverpool's all-time scoring charts.

Jurgen Klopp explained to Sky Sports why he had to substitute Salah, despite the player chasing a few records:

"We are here to win a game. Mo is super, super, super important. We have to make decisions. We needed fresh legs. He has 500 different records. I can't think of these during the game."

As luck would have it, there would be no more goals in the game as the two Premier League giants drew in the league for the fifth straight match.

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"I should have scored in the second half" - Chelsea's Ben Chilwell after Liverpool draw

Ben Chilwell (in blue)

Ben Chilwell was one of the standout performers for a new-look Chelsea side under new boss Mauricio Pochettino against Liverpool.

The defender provided a cross that Disasi converted for the Blues' equaliser. He later put the ball into the back of the net, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Bemoaning the result of the match, where the Blues were the "better" team, Chilwell said:

"We had a lot more frustrating draws last season. This game was frustrating but in a different way because we were the better team. We created chances. The effort was brilliant, but we just couldn't get that final goal. I should have scored in the second half as well, so I was annoyed about that."

Both teams will hope to open their accounts for the 2023-24 campaign next weekend. Chelsea travel to West Ham United in the league on Sunday (August 20), a day after Liverpool host Bournemouth at Anfield.