Mohamed Salah's winner against Liverpool prompted Klopp "made no sense" claim

While the summer of 2022 has been all about Mohamed Salah's new Liverpool contract, six years ago the Egyptian was putting the Reds to the sword.

Liverpool had been keen on Salah back in 2014, only to see him leave Basel for Chelsea. By August 2016 his time in London was a thing of the past, but it was safe to say Liverpool knew what they were going up against when they faced his Roma side in a pre-season friendly in St Louis, Missouri.

It was also part of Jurgen Klopp's first full pre-season as Liverpool boss. He had arrived midway through the 2015-16 season and overseen a succession of pre-season wins back in England, but the results in the US gave the German a reminder of the size of the task ahead of him.

Liverpool's starting XI in Missouri was a mix of old and new faces, including four of Klopp's summer signings. Veteran goalkeeper Alex Manninger started between the sticks, with Ragnar Klavan at centre-back in front of him, while there were also starts for Gini Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane after their moves from Newcastle and Southampton respectively.

Salah wasn't the only future Liverpool star involved for the Giallorossi, with Alisson beginning the game for the Italian side. Other players with Premier League experience past and present included Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri, while there was an appearance off the bench for Francesco Totti ahead of his final season as a pro.

Salah was involved in a big early chance for Roma, holding off Klavan and freeing Radja Nainggolan to play in Dzeko. It was a warning sign for Liverpool, but might have also given Klopp a hint of the physical abilities of the man he would go on to sign the next summer.

How will Salah get on this season? Have your say in the comments section

Dzeko did eventually put Roma ahead, drilling home a low effort from the edge of the box. However, Liverpool went in level at the break thanks to a close-range header from Sheyi Ojo.

The chances continued to flow for Luciano Spaletti's side, though, and eventually Salah put one of them away. Substitute goalkeeper Simon Mignolet could only parry a Dzeko header into the forward's path, and he made no mistake.

"It wasn't our best game but that can happen when you aren't compact like in the first half," Klopp said after the game. "There were big spaces between the positions.

"Nearly every attacking situation was a chance. It made no sense," he continued.

Klopp insisted that, while the result was not what he wanted, there were extenuating circumstances. The Reds had lost 1-0 to Chelsea just a few days earlier, and the succession of matches was taking its toll.

"I can accept it because I know why," he said. "We've had 13 days in the USA and the hardest circumstances tonight. A lot of intensive sessions and then playing in that heat tonight. We've had a lot of games in the last few weeks and our opponent has had no games for two weeks so it was hard."

In the light of the defeat, Klopp predicted that Roma would be there or thereabouts in Serie A for the upcoming campaign. Sure enough, they finished second under Spaletti, just four points shy of title-winners Juventus, to qualify for the following season's Champions League.

Roma would end up taking on Liverpool in that 2017-18 run, beating Barcelona in the quarter-finals before losing to Klopp's side in the semis. By that point, Salah - who had followed his pre-season effort with a career-best 19 goals in all competitions during his last season in Italy - was a Liverpool player.

"Mohamed has the perfect mix of experience and potential - this is a really exciting signing for us," Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com after the move went through. "He knows the Premier League, he has pedigree in the Champions League and he is one of the most important players for his country.

"His record in Italy has been outstanding and he possesses qualities that will enhance our team and squad. I have followed him since he emerged at Basel and he has matured into a really good player."

After watching Salah put his team to the sword in the United States, Klopp made sure it would be the last time the forward scored against his team. Six years on, the decision is looking like one of the best the club has ever made.