Liverpool Takes Time to Assess Mohamed Salah’s Penalty-Taking Abilities, Journalist Suggests

Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, will take his time to assess Mohamed Salah’s penalty-taking abilities, according to journalist Dean Jones. Despite Liverpool’s poor season, Salah has still managed to score goals. However, the Egyptian forward missed two penalties in a row for Liverpool, with his most recent miss coming against league leaders Arsenal.

Salah, who earns £350k-a-week, signed for Liverpool for £34m. The Athletic investigated his penalty record and found that he has scored 24 of the 29 penalties he has taken for Liverpool, with a success rate of 83%. Although four of his recent 11 penalties have been misses, Klopp believes there is no need to discuss Salah’s performance publicly.

Jones believes that Klopp won’t take the decision to remove Salah from penalty duties unless the player requests it himself. He cited Lionel Messi, who has also missed several penalties, as an example of how even the best can have a bad penalty record.

Despite Liverpool’s difficulties this season, Salah has provided 20 goals and assists in the Premier League, as per FBref. He has also been a crucial player in Liverpool’s Champions League campaign, scoring eight goals in just seven starts. While Salah’s technical ability is unquestionable, he cannot score goals alone and relies on his teammates for creativity. Therefore, any dip in form is not solely his responsibility.