Jurgen Klopp on substituting Mohamed Salah against West Ham

Jurgen Klopp substituted Mohamed Salah against West Ham on Sunday and the Liverpool manager has now explained why he did it.

With Mo Salah chasing the Premier League Golden Boot this season, taking him off against West Ham seemed to be a strange decision by Klopp.

The Egyptian made way for Diogo Jota in the 79th minute against the Hammers.

Liverpool went on to win 1-0 against David Moyes' side but it was not a comfortable win, to say the least.

Salah didn't look too happy being brought off with over 10 minutes to go but Klopp has subbed his star players before in key games, Sadio Mane in the League Cup final being a key example.

Speaking at his pre-Inter Milan press conference, as cited by Anfield Watch, the German manager explained his reasoning for substituting the Premier League's top goal scorer on the weekend.

"It is exactly the same as the other players. We like to keep Mo on the pitch as he is desperate to score a goal, he is good on the counter-attacks and he defends to the end," said Klopp.

"But we had an opportunity to bring in fresh legs in Diogo Jota. It's exactly the same substitution for all players. No further reason."

Anfield Watch Verdict

Jurgen Klopp is no stranger to controversial substitutes. Mane's bust-up with the German a few years ago at Turf Moor is a prime example.

The best players in the world, especially forwards,  don't like being subbed off when there is a possibility of more goals to be scored.

However, players need breaks and Salah has played a lot of football this season. Even though the Egyptian might have been upset in the moment, after the match there is no doubt that Klopp explained the situation to him and no grudges will be held by either person.