Michail Antonio shares what Jurgen Klopp said to Mo Salah in West Ham v Liverpool incident
West Ham United forward Michail Antonio believes the touchline incident between Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp at the London Stadium has been “amplified.”
Antonio described what happened in the 79th minute of the 2-2 draw against Liverpool from his point of view, saying the incident had been blown out of proportion.
The 34-year-old had made it 2-2 just moments earlier with a bullet header for West Ham, and said on The Players’ Channel that: “Klopp put his hand out to him and his hand was there for a bit, and as Mo stopped doing what he was doing, he just slapped his hand as a high five.
“Klopp didn’t like that and he was like, ‘Do you want to sit back down?’”
He had sympathy for Liverpool, saying: “It’s one of those things, because they’re not performing it’s going to be amplified.”
“Knowing who they are and how well they’ve done this season, tensions are going to be high, there is going to be a lot of frustration and they are only human, so these things are bound to happen.”
Antonio and West Ham halt losing run to dent Liverpool title bid
West Ham produced one of their best performances of late to secure a 2-2 draw with Liverpool, a result which has been somewhat lost in the fallout from Klopp and Sarah’s touchline argument.
Antonio was arguably the root cause of the pair’s frustrations, scoring a clinical header and pegging Liverpool back just moments before Salah was due to be substituted on by Klopp.
Jarrod Bowen’s opener had seen West Ham enter half-time with a 1-0 lead at the London Stadium, but Liverpool were soon in front themselves after 65 minutes, following Andy Robertson’s strike and West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna deflecting a shot in off his own goalkeeper.
For the first time in several weeks though, West Ham weren’t to be denied, and Antonio rising to head in the equaliser not only halted a two-game Hammers losing run, it also prevented Liverpool from making up much ground in their faltering title race.
The spat between Salah and Klopp is therefore understandable, as stated by Antonio, and if the Jamaican international can produce even more well-timed goals before the end of the season, West Ham may be causing further frustration for their opposition in the coming weeks.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers could miss out on a potential new manager following an update from Chelsea.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channelfor instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.