‘There is pressure’, Mo Salah admits

Mohamed Salah has admitted that he is feeling increasing pressure in trying to help Liverpool see off Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

With just 12 games to go, the Reds sit second in the top flight behind City on goal difference. However Jurgen Klopp’s side have a game in hand, giving them an opportunity to open up a three-point gap.

Salah has been key to Liverpool’s rise as title challengers this term, scoring 17 goals which has left him joint top scorer along with Sergio Aguero.

In an interview with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, the forward claimed that although he is starting to feel pressure in the title race, it is helping him maintain his excellent form.

‘You can feel it [the pressure] because you are still a human being,’ Salah told the Sky Sports pundit. ‘For me it is not a big deal if I win a game now or three weeks ago. I want to win each game, but for myself I said that we are playing for the Premier League, so there is pressure. Also there is pressure for Man City.

‘I said in November that there is pressure and it will be there until the end of the season, because when you play for the Premier League you have to accept that there is pressure. When you go home you can take it with you, but it can help you to work harder and focus on your game.

‘To enjoy it is not enough, from my side. At the end of the day you have a target in your mind, you have a dream, you want to win the Premier League. I even said that two years ago when I came – it is a dream to win the Premier League.’
Salah added that as the season nears its conclusion he is felling the pressure increase with the expectation of delivering Liverpool their first league title in 29 years.

‘Of course there is pressure because you are a human being,’ he told ESPN. ‘You feel that and you want to win the Premier League – something huge for the club, the city, the fans everywhere.

‘But now it’s more because you’re just close to the end, so there is more pressure. But at the end of the day, the next game, the three points, is very important, like the first game of the season.

‘But the people don’t take it like that. They take it like: ‘OK, there’s a pressure now’. But in the beginning of the season you need to win the game to get the three points to be here now. So now you are top of the table or second and you have one game in hand, so you just need to be calm and play football.’