LLOYD Kelly commented on his battle with Liverpool star Mo Salah at the weekend, sharing: “I knew that I had to be on my game.”

Defender Kelly was chucked somewhat into the deep end on his return from injury, slotting into the Cherries team at left-back against one of the world’s best wingers.

However, the 24-year-old cut a composed figure throughout the encounter, keeping the Egyptian quiet and helping his side to a famous 1-0 victory over the Reds.

Kelly had been sidelined with a calf injury since January, causing him to miss five Premier League fixtures. It has been a frustrating season on the injury front for the Bristolian, who missed nine games earlier on in the campaign with an ankle complaint.

Discussing the win over Liverpool, Kelly told BBC Radio Solent: “I think I knew it was going to be a tough game, of course, being out for several weeks, but going into the game it was the same mentality of if I perform to the best, I’m sure everyone else did, we’d be able to come away with a result.

“I think we stuck to what the gaffer wanted, from the start of the game till the end. I think we stuck to that, and produced a top performance.

“We always knew that the game was going to start fast, and they put us under pressure.

“We just needed to settle it, as soon as we’d done that, everyone felt a lot more comfortable and we were able to play through our shape and cause them problems.”

Asked about facing Salah, Kelly continued: “He’s always tough. He’s a top, top player. You know he has quality on the transition, he’s proved that numerous times this season.

“I knew that I had to be on my game, and be alert to those situations, and I think I’ve done that.”

Salah’s quiet afternoon was compounded by a miss from the penalty spot, a rarity from the Egyptian.

“There’s always a possibility (he’ll miss),” restarted Kelly.

“It’s one of those things, you never know what it is going to happen. You just need to react to it, and luckily it went wide.”