Jurgen Klopp says Mohamed Salah was never supposed to come off during Liverpool’s meeting with Manchester City despite his number being shown.

It appeared at one stage midway through the second half as though the Reds would be replacing their Egyptian superstar, with Klopp looking to introduce fresh legs. The No.11 was held up on the electronic board, but Salah merely made his way to the touchline to have a chat with his manager before staying on the field and netting the match-winning goal in a vital 1-0 victory for the home side at Anfield.

Quizzed by Sky Sports on whether Salah had talked himself out of being changed, Klopp said: "No he was not supposed to be off, I wanted to speak to him. I did not know the number showed up, that was not the plan."

After seeing Salah find the target, and attract some rough treatment from City, Klopp picked up a red card for ranting at the match officials. He added on being sent to the stands: "In the end, probably deserved, but you cannot have this situation. It is the clearest foul I ever saw in front of the linesman and he is not bothered. It is clear. They just watch the game but we [the managers] are involved."

Klopp’s side, who are up to eighth in the Premier League table, will be back in action on Wednesday when playing host to West Ham, before then heading out on the road to face Nottingham Forest next Saturday.