Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that he will hold talks with Mohamed Salah over penalty duties after the Liverpool forward missed another spot-kick in Sunday's enthralling 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
Salah did find the back of the net to halve the deficit after the Gunners raced into a two goal lead at Anfield but spurned a golden chance to restore parity from the penalty spot in the 54th minute after Rob Holding had chopped Diogo Jota down inside the area.
And although Roberto Firmino spared Salah's blushes with a late equaliser, Klopp hinted that Salah could be forced to relinquish the responsibility of stepping up after he missed his second penalty in the space of a few weeks.
Klopp went viral after he was caught celebrating Salah's spot-kick before clocking the Reds talisman had missed. But he explained after the match: "I only saw the penalty after the game. A few people in the crowd reacted, so when you don’t see the penalty, you react on what the people see and a few people obviously thought the ball was in but it wasn’t.
"He missed the goal. So that’s why for a second the fist, and then I realised, ‘Oh, Mo isn’t celebrating.’ And then I realised the ball wasn’t it. That’s it.'
When he was pushed on whether or not he could decide to strip Salah of penalty duties after he missed a spot-kick in last month's defeat against Bournemouth, Klopp appeared to be reluctant to discuss the matter in depth but admitted: "That’s something we will talk about but not here."
If Klopp does elect to take Salah off penalties, then there a number of potential candidates who could step up to replace the Egyptian talisman.
Join the debate! Do you think Liverpool should strip penalty duties from Salah? Let us know here.
Salah took over penalty duties from veteran midfielder James Milner after he "asked nicely" shortly after his arrival at the club. Fabinho has an impressive record from the spot and is another player who could take charge if Liverpool do decide to make a change.
Salah almost made amends for his penalty miss in style in the dying moments of the game - only for Aaron Ramsdale to deny him with a world class save. The Arsenal shot-stopper then produced another magnificent stop to thwart Ibrahima Konate from point-blank range in a frantic finale - which Klopp felt was symbolic of the Reds' inconsistent season.
He told Sky Sports: "A bit typical for us this season. An open game, completely open, they score with the first situation and the second one. Our reaction was good. It was a spectacular game in the end. How we didn’t win it with those late chances I don’t know.
"I’m caught in between [being happy and not]. I have no problems with drawing. Arsenal were good but they could and should have lost this game. The point for them is better."
