Reaction'It's big for us' - Salah and Bajcetic's analysis of Merseyside derby win
Mohamed Salah and Stefan Bajcetic both expressed a determination to now build on the hugely encouraging display Liverpool produced on Monday night that saw them beat Everton 2-0 at Anfield.
Liverpool 2-0 Everton: Extended highlights
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Salah opened the scoring in the Merseyside derby towards the end of the first half when he put the finishing touch on a brilliant counter-attacking move, with Cody Gakpo then opening his account for the club to add the second not long after half-time.
A delighted Salah and Bajcetic spoke to Sky Sports after the Reds returned to winning ways in convincing fashion – read on to see what the pair had to say…
Mohamed Salah
On how important the win was...
It's big, it's huge for us. I think we had a perfect week to train and the players were so excited. We couldn't wait for the game to turn everything around. Hopefully that's the start.
On Bajcetic...
He's a great player, he's a great person. He always tries to work hard and since he started playing with us, he's our best player maybe. Hopefully he stays with that confidence and just keeps going.
On the first goal...
I know that Darwin is really fast and they had a corner and we managed to play a one-two, and I knew that he's going to play the ball in the space. I was running as much as I could because he's so fast. We managed to win the game and that's the most important thing. We were a little bit lucky but luck always comes when you work really hard and I'm sure we work really hard. Everybody was excited for that game to change everything. Hopefully that's a start.
I train with Darwin, I know his style, I know how he likes to play. When we counter-attack, we just go. We did it a few times – against Napoli, a few times against City. So, I know how he plays, how he is as a player. This guy's going to score a lot of goals.
On responding...
Hendo and Millie were speaking last week and they spoke again yesterday, 'Guys, we just have to play our football. We need to enjoy it because we've been together five, six years, have new players that play really good, so there's no point to play as we started.' I think we managed to play good.
Stefan Bajcetic
On his first Merseyside derby...
To be fair, it was a different position and I thought it would be less comfortable, but it was good and I enjoyed it a lot.
On whether it was the best Liverpool performance he's been part of...
I would say so. We all knew it was a very important win for us and now hopefully we keep going and win more games.
On whether his life 'feels real at the moment'...
It's crazy, to be fair! I always say a year ago I was playing U18s football and now I'm playing [at] Anfield. That's just happened in one year and it's so crazy. I'm enjoying it a lot here.