Mohamed Salah have new competition for Liverpool role as options emerge for Jurgen Klopp

Mohamed Salah is Liverpool’s number one penalty taker, but Jurgen Klopp has no shortage of options from the penalty spot

When referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot after Dominik Szoboszlai had been dragged to the ground, there was no doubt who would pass the buck.

Darwin Nunez may have taken a penalty against LASK a few weeks earlier, but the fact that the Uruguayan was in the box with the ball in hand only served to ensure that Mohamed Salah could make the right move from twelve metres.

As expected, the Egyptian disappeared from the penalty spot to help Liverpool draw 2-2 against Brighton in his final appearance before the recent international break.

It was the third penalty conceded by the Reds in the top flight this season, just one less than in the whole of last season.

And it allowed Salah to improve his impressive spot-kick conversion rate to 82.35% after scoring 28 of his 34 penalties.
For some context, only 11 Liverpool players can boast a better ratio, with only two – Jan Molby and Steven Gerrard – having taken more penalties than Salah.

Phil Neal, who was the Reds’ main penalty taker in the late 1970s and early 1980s, scored 38 of 51 penalties.

Salah maintained his and Klopp’s faith despite missing three of his five previous penalties before scoring against West Ham United last month, including misses in consecutive Premier League games against Bournemouth and Arsenal towards the end of last season .

“We had a conversation and he (Mo) wanted to remain the penalty taker,” Klopp said at the time.
“We had a normal conversation about it and I said, ‘Okay, you are.’ You don’t feel good at that moment and that’s what he said, because the pressure obviously increases with the penalties you miss.”

Since Roberto Firmino had the chance to score a hat-trick against Arsenal in December 2018, Salah has not taken a penalty on the pitch.
And he was a major contributor to Liverpool’s success after scoring 23 consecutive penalties between October 2018 and September 2021, a club record.

But Firmino is now gone.
This includes James Milner – who scored 19 of 21 penalties – and Fabinho, who scored three goals in the second half of the 2021/2022 season.
In fact, Nunez is the only current Liverpool player, apart from Salah, to have taken a penalty for the Reds in normal time.
So the position next to Salah is very much up for grabs, with the last few days suggesting there are numerous contenders.

Nunez scored a penalty in Uruguay’s historic win against Brazil, Virgil van Dijk held his nerve to ensure the Netherlands beat Greece in injury time and Dominik Szoboszlai scored home to give Hungary a draw against Lithuania.
However, Luis Diaz failed to convert in Colombia’s goalless draw in Ecuador.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is another option previously mentioned by Klopp.
But while the right-back has converted all three of his penalties into penalties for Liverpool, he has yet to be credited with one in the regular course of a match.

If Liverpool are awarded a penalty against Everton on Saturday, Salah will step up. But if the Egyptian is not present, recent evidence suggests Klopp will be spoiled for choice.

More news…….

Midfielder still a target for Liverpool in the summer transfer window.

Manu Kone, a midfielder for Borussia Monchengladbach, was initially reportedly a target for Liverpool during the summer and the Reds are reportedly still interested in him.

As Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all left Anfield, the Reds ultimately moved for different targets on that occasion, bringing in four new players in the form of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, and Wataru Endo.

Bayern Munich are reportedly interested in Kone, while Liverpool’s interest in the player also appears to be ongoing, according to Daily Briefing columnist Christian Falk, who posted from his account on X.

Falk asserts that Kone is still under the Merseyside giants’ radar in the passage below.

It will be interesting to see whether Liverpool keeps making the rebuilding of their midfield a priority, or if they decide to turn their attention to other areas of their roster next.

Since players like Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah aren’t getting any younger, they’ll soon need to be replaced with more long-term options.

However, Kone is a great talent and one that other major clubs will probably be vying for as well, so it is definitely worth keeping an eye on