Jurgen Klopp insists star duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have a "healthy competition" for goals at Liverpool, praising the latter's "absolutely crazy" numbers.
Speaking at a press conference to preview his side's Premier League clash with Burnley, the Reds boss dismissed suggestions that there is any kind of discord between his forwards.
In the return fixture at Turf Moor back in September, Mane had reacted angrily after Salah opted to shoot for goal instead of passing to his unmarked team-mate.
And after Wednesday's 3-1 win at Brighton, Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness suggested Salah had been "super selfish" as he looked for goals to take him closer to the Premier League Golden Boot award.
Klopp told reporters: “I’m not sure it’s a competition but it’s healthy. They want to score goals and that’s completely normal. These things are always made up, and it’s clear. If you shoot and don’t score, there’s a 98 per cent opportunity that you should have passed somewhere else!
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“It was never a bad relationship. There are moments where you think ‘he could pass the ball here or there’ but in my 20 years as a manager, I don’t think I’ve had more than two talks to a striker about being too selfish!
“Strikers have to be selfish to make decisions. And these decisions are the most important things, you have to be ready to finish a situation off.
“If he doesn’t see it, we can talk to a player and show them. But I have never thought a player is selfish or too selfish. In those situations, so many legs are around and you need to make sure you can keep the ball and finish.
“No, it’s all good.”
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Salah moved to 19 league goals for the season with a double at Brighton, while both he and Mane have passed 20 in all competitions for the past three seasons.
"It’s incredible," Klopp said. "We would not be where we are now if these boys didn’t perform at such a consistently high level.
“Mo? Of course, come on! The numbers are absolutely crazy! Involved in 100 goals since he is here, 73 [goals] and 27 [assists], it’s just outstanding, world-class numbers. Nobody should be surprised anymore.
“The boys showed this, week in and week out, and for a while. We know that it is special, but we know that you can only score if you invest in each game, to be in the right position. That’s what the boys were ready to do, and what they still have to do.
"Long may it continue!”
Klopp also dismissed claims that Salah's team-mates were actively seeking to aid his quest for a third successive Golden Boot. The Egyptian currently sits three goals behind leader Jamie Vardy with four games remaining in the season.
“I hope they were not doing that," Klopp said. "When I saw the [first goal v Brighton] situation, it was just that Bobby Firmino's football intelligence told him he was not in the best position and that Mo was in a much better position. I don’t think he left the ball because he wants Mo to win the Golden Boot. You cannot have this mindset.
“We all help each other. We have another contender with Sadio. He has 16 goals. They all want to score goals. Bobby wants to score. They want to be decisive, to decide football games. That’s the mindset a striker needs.”