Mohamed Salah has ruled out any chance of thinking the title race is over if Liverpool beat Manchester City this weekend in the Premier League.
The Reds are six points clear heading into the top-of-the-table clash, a fixture which has been decided over small margins in the past season or two.
A late, missed penalty from Riyad Mahrez in this game last term meant the match ended in a goalless draw, while City defender John Stones memorably made a goalline clearance to prevent a Reds equaliser at the Etihad – with just 11.7 millimetres the difference between goal and no goal on that occasion.
This time, both managers appear to be expecting a similarly intense and tight encounter at Anfield, and Liverpool forward Salah says that regardless of the final score, there’s too long to go in the season to be thinking of lifting the trophy.
“They were talking about that [title race] in December last year when we were six or seven points ahead saying it was over,” he told Sky Sports.
“It’s not over, it’s three games. If you have a bad period you can be in trouble again.
“Even if we win it’s still a long way, it’s only November and way too early to talk about the Premier League.”
Salah’s own form has dipped somewhat of late, with a sole penalty against Tottenham his only league strike in the last five.
He’s not worried by outside criticism, though, and says his focus remains on doing his best for the team.
“To be honest I don’t care about what people expect from me. As long as I’m scoring and the team is winning it’s fine
“I don’t have to care about what people expect from me. That can put too much pressure on you and make you perform badly.
“I’m doing what I want to do and I’m happy about it.”
Salah hasn’t scored in his last three appearances against Man City for the Reds, having previously scored three times against Pep Guardiola’s team in 2017/18.
