Drogba: Salah used to text me for scoring advice

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba revealed that Liverpool's free-scoring winger, Mohamed Salah, used to text him for advice on how to find the back of the net, and heaped praise on the Egypt international for finding the answer to that question this season.

Salah, who once played alongside Drogba at Chelsea, has been in blistering form for Jurgen Klopp's side this year, leading the Premier League with 13 goals in 16 matches while adding another five goals in six Champions League appearances. The Anfield newcomer has made the Liverpool right wing his own, but Drogba remembers when Salah wasn't quite so certain of himself.

"He's unpredictable he can dribble past you easily and he has got stronger and he can score goals," Drogba told the BBC. "There was time when he was texting me: 'I don't score, I don't know why.' I said, 'It is just a matter of time and confidence.'

"When you have the confidence, everything can happen and you can see now that he is scoring goals."

Drogba added: "He's becoming a boss and a leader - we've seen it in the national team and seen it at Liverpool.

"I can tell by his celebrations that he knows what he's doing now, he's not going crazy but just sticking his tongue out to say, 'Yeah it's me.'"

For his efforts, Salah has helped propel Liverpool to fifth in the Premier League table, with a match in hand on fourth-placed Burnley. He also guided Egypt to a berth in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he and his teammates will face Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay in Group A of the quadrennial contest.