Jürgen Klopp will speak with Mohamed Salah about whether he will continue as Liverpool’s penalty taker after the Egyptian striker’s misses against both Arsenal and Bournemouth proved costly for the struggling Reds
- Mohamed Salah has been Liverpool’s designated penalty taker in recent years
- The Egyptian forward has missed his last two Premier League penalties
- Jürgen Klopp has said he will talk to Salah about whether he stays on penalties
Jurgen Klopp has reportedly refused to confirm that Mohamed Salah will remain Liverpool’s penalty taker following the Egyptian’s two key misses from the spot in recent weeks.
Salah has been Liverpool’s first choice on penalties in recent seasons and has had an excellent record ahead of the current season. He has scored just twice for the Reds since arriving at Anfield in 2017.
However, he put his penalty high and wide in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth last month, turning down the chance to level his side in the game, and then missed again in the 2-2 draw from last weekend with Arsenal as Klopp’s men. fell just short of taking all three points after trailing by two goals.
Klopp has now vowed to deal with the situation by talking to Salah about whether it is best to keep him on penalties or shift responsibility to someone else in the team, according to The times.
If Salah chooses to waive penalties for the time being, it is not entirely clear who would act as his replacement.
Mohamed Salah missed his last two penalties for Liverpool and put both attempts wide
He was visibly frustrated after missing out against Arsenal as he let the Gunners off the hook
Jürgen Klopp has said he will talk to Salah about whether to stay on penalties or not
James Milner took Liverpool’s penalties during the early stages of his Anfield career, missing just twice in his time on Merseyside, but he has not taken a penalty in regular time since December 2019 and is no longer a regular starter.
Still, it seems Klopp should have plenty of options to choose from given Liverpool’s recent record on penalties.
The Reds have triumphed in their last four shootouts, two of which won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup final against Chelsea last season.
In the previous final, all 11 Liverpool players converted their penalties before Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made his attempt to give Liverpool a dramatic 11-10 win.
Salah will return to action tonight as Liverpool travel to relegation-threatened Leeds.
The 30-year-old attacker previously took three penalties against Leeds and scored them all.
Klopp’s side are currently 12 points outside the top four and have not secured a win in their last five games, but still have a glimmer of hope to chase those ahead after Newcastle and Tottenham both slumped to defeats this weekend.