ReactionTsimikas explains Salah gratitude and importance of display v Brentford
Kostas Tsimikas paid tribute to Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian delivered two more goals in Liverpool’s win over Brentford on Sunday.
Salah netted a double as the Reds moved up to second in the Premier League table with a 3-0 victory at Anfield, and in doing so became the first player in the club’s history to score in each of the first six home games of a league campaign.
Afterwards, Tsimikas reflected on Salah’s remarkable goalscoring feats – with the forward now two away from 200 for Liverpool – and revealed the support he has received from the No.11 on a personal level recently.
“For Mo, I can’t say anything,” the Greece international told Liverpoolfc.com. “[He is a] fantastic player and more fantastic as a human being.
“I always try to ask him for everything. He’s there for me, to help me in anything that happens in my life. I really thank him because in this period he tried to keep me motivated to play well and help the team.
“I’m really, really happy for all these goals he scores, he really deserves it.”
Read on for more from our post-match interview with Tsimikas…
On the importance of the win for him…
Oh, this performance was one of the best. I wanted so much to play good, to help the team to win the three points. For me it was very important because the previous games were not the best I have played with the team. So I wanted a little moment, one assist just to put the fire on myself. So I’m really happy for that.
On showing his character after some difficult recent games…
I can’t describe it. It was not the best football I played in all these years with the teams I was with. It’s something that never happened to me. I always try to perform in this run of games. It was the first time it happened to me, as I said, and I wanted to just be focused, just to think that I’m a good player to be here, that it was one mistake that I made in the previous game with Toulouse, and it doesn’t affect me. That’s what I showed the outside [world].
On the significance of the three points…
It was very important for the team. Obviously now we go with our national teams and when we come back we have very important games coming. I think it was very, very important to build on this performance and this result and then we go from here. Of course we still have a lot of room for improvement. Everything is in front of us and we have to fight for it.
On Virgil van Dijk’s form…
I think he’s in one of the best moods of his football career. He’s our captain, he’s always there for us. At the moment he’s in very good shape. I’m very happy for him. He works hard and he is always very focused. He leads the team perfectly and we are there to hear him and play all together. We defend as a team, we defend together, we attack together. In some teams, they win games only if they defend well. We have both, so we don’t have to be afraid of anything in life. Only to be focused and play our football.
On the challenges ahead…
It was a very big step for us. We wanted to win, and I think we showed that from the first to the last moment. Everything is in front of us, we have to be 100 per cent focused, to be hungry for everything. That was our goal from the start of the season. Everything is there, and we have to go and chase it.