Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has revealed he wanted Mohamed Salah to continue playing in the win against West Ham United, and explained why he was substituted.

The hosts won the game by a solitary goal scored by Sadio Mane after 27 minutes.

The German tactician opted to freshen the team and introduce Portuguese attacker Diogo Jota with about 15 minutes to go.

"As with the other players, we wanted to keep Salah on the pitch," Klopp told the media.

"He wanted to stay on the pitch, especially since he excels in counterattacks and had important defensive roles.

"But we had the chance to bring on fresh blood against West Ham and that’s why we brought on Diogo Jota. We have a very hectic schedule and we need to play everyone."

This season, Salah has scored 19 Premier League goals and provided 10 assists in the 25 games he has played.

In the Uefa Champions League, Salah has scored eight goals in the seven matches played. He will have a chance to add his tally on Tuesday evening when the Reds host Italian heavyweights Inter Milan at Anfield in the second leg of the Round of 16.

The English side claimed a 2-0 win in the previous meeting; Roberto Firmino converted Andy Robertson's assist in the 75th minute before Salah scored the second eight minutes later.

However, Klopp insists it is not over and the opponents still stand a chance of overturning the deficit.

The danger everybody knows about. It’s 2-0, the lead I think which got turned over most often in the history of football," the tactician told the club's official site.

"Because if you enter half-time 2-0 up and you have a team who thinks we are halfway through then you are already on the wrong path, so we are long enough [in the competition] and we know that. It’s a much better result than I would have expected, to be honest before we played there."