Mohamed Salah has urged his Liverpool teammates to maintain their winning momentum if they want to retain their Premier League title and also said he is "no fan" of VAR.
Salah scored two sumptuous goals in Sunday's 3-1 win at West Ham United, ending a six-game goal drought for the Egyptian.
Victory at the London Stadium was the Reds' second in the capital in the space of three days following Thursday's win at Tottenham Hotspur. The win moved Jurgen Klopp's side up to third in the table, four points behind leaders Manchester City although with a game in hand.
While Liverpool romped to the title in record fashion last season, they have been unable to repeat that form this term, losing three of their 21 league matches and drawing seven.
Salah said he believes the Reds cannot afford to slip up again before the end of the campaign.
He told Sky Sports after the match: "Every year is like that: if you want to win the league, you have to win every game.
"You just need to keep winning if you want to win the Premier League. It has been a good week.
"It was a good win for us today, a second game in a row. It was a tough game; they played a good game. I have scored a few goals against them; they are a tough team. We just need to carry on and keep winning."
The 28-year-old then gave an unprompted opinion of Video Assistant Referee system, saying the technology was taking the joy from the game, although it was not used in the match at the London Stadium.
"I don't like VAR, it kills the game off, that joy of football," he said. "In other countries they give the striker more space, but here - I don't want to complain about it or get fined - it is just my opinion about VAR. I don't like it."
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West Ham v Liverpool ratings
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WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski - 5. The Pole was beaten three times despite not being tested for most of the first hour. He could not be blamed for any of the goals. AFP -
Vladimir Coufal - 6. Solid enough when defending. The Czech stopped Robertson from dominating that side of the pitch. Sent a dangerous first-half set-piece into the opposition box. Reuters -
Craig Dawson - 6. Kept Liverpool quiet in the opening period and made a fine block on Origi. The 30-year-old was left stranded by the visitors’ second-half blitz. Scored his team’s consolation goal. Reuters -
Angelo Ogbonna - 6. The Italian was comfortable when the ball was in the air and showed discipline in holding his position. He was undone by pace and movement for Liverpool’s third goal. Reuters -
Aaron Cresswell - 4. The boyhood Liverpool fan managed to keep Salah quiet for most of the first hour but then it went badly wrong. He was not close enough to the striker for the first goal and got caught in no-man’s land upfield for the second. AFP -
Declan Rice - 4. The 22-year-old has a fine range of passing but was too busy protecting his defence and showed little creative endeavour. He was too cautious going forward against opponents weakened by injury. Reuters -
Tomas Soucek - 4. The Czech was talked up before the match but was largely anonymous in a callow West Ham attacking performance. He rarely posed a threat. EPA -
Jarrod Bowen - 5. The 24-year-old spent too much time worrying about Robertson and helping out Coufal but it meant there was no thrust down the West Ham right. Replaced by Fredericks with 11 minutes left. Reuters -
Pablo Fornals - 5. Had a shot at goal headed away by Robertson and sent in one dangerous cross but the Spaniard was otherwise peripheral to the action. Taken off for Yarmolenko just after the hour. Reuters -
Said Benrahma - 4. The Algerian saw too little of the ball but put the odd threatening cross into the area. Like his team.mates he could have been much more positive. AFP -
Michail Antonio - 4. The striker missed his team’s best chance moments before Liverpool took the lead. He did not make the most of his pace and physicality against the makeshift defence. Withdrawn for Noble in the 79th minute. EPA -
SUB: Andriy Yarmolenko - 5. Joined the action in the 62nd minute when Fornals was replaced. Hugged the line but was unable to get on the ball and behind the defence. Reuters -
SUB: Mark Noble - 5. Replaced Antonio with 11 minutes left in a rather negative double substitution. By that point Liverpool were in cruise control and it was just damage limitation. Reuters -
SUB: Ryan Fredericks – 5. Came on for Bowen in the 79th minute for a meaningless appearance. By then it felt like West Ham had given up. Reuters -
LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 6. The Brazilian was put under little pressure but stayed alert to any threat behind the back four. He was quick off his line and confident distributing the ball. EPA -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 8. An impressive outing for the Scouser. He played a part in the first two goals and his crossfield pass to Shaqiri on the quick break for the second was superb. AFP -
Nathaniel Phillips - 7. The 23-year-old's heading ability was put to good use and he showed good awareness at set-pieces. His positioning and anticipation are improving with experience. Reuters -
Jordan Henderson - 7. Another composed performance at centre back from the captain. A chipped pass to Salah showed how dangerous he can be from deep. EPA -
Andrew Robertson - 7. West Ham doubled up on the Scot to try and restrict his influence but he still got forward. He defended well, too, and headed a shot from Fornals off the line. Reuters -
Georginio Wijnaldum - 8. The Dutchman controlled the tempo of the game from deep in the midfield. He was not afraid of stepping forward when necessary and was rewarded with the third goal. AFP -
Thiago Alcantara - 7. The 29-year-old sent in a lovely ball to Origi in the area just before half time. He rarely wastes possession but his lateness in the tackle is concerning and he was lucky to escape a yellow card. EPA -
James Milner - 7. The 35-year-old put in his usual shift and was unhappy to be withdrawn just before the hour. His anger immediately turned to delight when Jones, his replacement, contributed to Salah’s opening goal. EPA -
Xherdan Shaqiri - 7. The Swiss constantly probed for chances but was crowded out by the massed defence until he lit up the stadium with a fabulous pass to Salah for the second goal. It was his last involvement before being replaced by Firmino. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah - 9. The Egyptian looked frustrated for most of the first hour but his two goals showed that he is one of the game’s most dangerous strikers. He made space in a congested area for the first and his control and finishing for the second were breathtaking. Reuters -
Divock Origi - 6. The Belgian was strangely reluctant to drive into the area when Liverpool were in crossing positions. He was much more aggressive in the second half before being replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain after limping off with an injury. AFP -
SUB: Curtis Jones - 7. The 20-year-old came on for Milner in the 57th minute and changed the game. He drove at the heart of the defence causing panic and supplied the pass for Salah to score. AFP -
SUB: Roberto Firmino - 7. On for Shaqiri in the 69th minute. The Brazilian enjoyed his short outing and unpicked a packed defence to provide the easiest of tap-ins for Wijnaldum to complete the scoring. EPA -
SUB: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 7. Joined the action in the 79th minute, replacing Origi, and got involved right away. He played a clever backheel in the build-up to the third goal. Reuters
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described Salah as "world-class" after seeing the Egyptian forward net twice against the Hammers to become the first Liverpool player to score at least 20 goals in four straight seasons since club great Ian Rush.
Salah's double took his tally for the season to 21 in all competitions and manager Klopp said the forward had an incredible appetite for goals.
"I'm not surprised. I work on a daily basis together with him and he'll never stop having a massive desire for scoring goals," Klopp told reporters.
Salah cut in to curl home with his left foot in the 57th minute on Sunday for his first league goal since December 19. He doubled his team's advantage with a close-range finish 11 minutes later.
"He is a world-class player, there's no doubt about that. How I said in the last few weeks when we didn't score that many, the only thing you can do is try and try and try again. You have to make good decisions, or better decisions," Klopp added.
"Tonight he didn't force it. The first goal was a smart goal and in the last few weeks he probably would have tried to shoot through the legs, but this was really keeping the overview and chipping the ball into the far corner. Top-class goal."
