Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp in heated exchange as Liverpool drop out of title race

Mohamed Salah had a heated exchange with Jurgen Klopp as he prepared to come onto the field during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against West Ham at the London Stadium.

The Egyptian forward was dropped to the bench having not performed at his usual high standards for Liverpool since his injury, and in the aftermath of the club’s defeat in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.

Salah was preparing to come on before West Ham’s equaliser, but after Michail Antonio’s header Klopp went over to speak to the forward - who raised his arms and appeared to argue back to his manager.

Salah was then told to calm down by Darwin Nunez, who pulled him away from continuing the exchange.

The draw has seen Liverpool’s chances of winning another title in Klopp’s farewell season disappear. They have dropped points to Arsenal and Manchester City, and despite an improved second-half performance, it was not enough for victory.

Jarrod Bowen put the hosts ahead just before the half time break before Andy Roberston equalised, and the Reds then went ahead after a fortuitous pinball that resulted in an Alphonse Areola own goal.

But Antonio made Liverpool pay for their missed chances, which included hitting the woodwork twice, as he struck a 77th-minute equaliser.

When asked by TNT Sports after the game if he could say what was said in the exchange, Klopp said: “No.

“But we spoke already in the dressing room, and for me, that’s done.”

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said about the incident on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The only reason a manager would be unhappy in this situation, is the player took too long to be ready to come on.”

Peter Crouch was a pundit on TNT Sports, and he said: “It didn’t look good, I don’t think it looks good for the club.

“Mo Salah is a player who has started the majority of games for Liverpool and he will be fuming to be on the bench.

“But no-one likes to see this between a manager and a key player.”

Liverpool have not performed at their usual high standards in recent weeks. Since a 2-2 draw against Manchester United on April 7, the club have won just one Premier League match, at Fulham and have lost to Crystal Palace and Everton.

Salah has not scored in the League since the trip to Old Trafford, although he did score a penalty against Atalanta in the Europa League, as the Reds crashed out of that competition following a 3-0 home defeat in the first leg.

Liverpool’s form towards the end of the season appears to have slightly dropped off a cliff, even Klopp was forced to admit after the Everton game: “We were not even close to what we want to be.”

He added: “It wasn’t the first [below par] one but it was the worst one. Crystal Palace wasn’t even close [to being as bad].”