Pep Lijnders took charge of Manchester City on Saturday as they hammered Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup.

The Dutchman is intrinsically linked with the Reds having spent a decade at the club, but showed no mercy to Arne Slot at the Etihad Stadium.

Some of Lijnders’ touchline antics were questionable during the game, and his behaviour was also somewhat bizarre at full-time, as he gave a very noncommittal answer to a question about departing Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah.

Having been Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Anfield throughout Salah’s first seven years with the Reds, Lijnders knows the Egyptian extremely well.

He is also generally an enthusiastic speaker, and during his post-match press conference on Saturday he gave some typically long answers.

However, when asked for his thoughts on the respect Salah will likely be shown ahead of his impending exit, Lijnders kept his answer strangely brief, impersonal and general.

“I hope, he gave seven or eight years to Liverpool winning the biggest trophies you can win in a style which was insane,” he said.

Photo by Liverpool...