Klopp 'to speak to Salah about continuing as Liverpool penalty taker'
Jurgen Klopp ‘will speak to Mohamed Salah about whether he continues as Liverpool’s penalty taker’ after the Egyptian forward’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 penalties in the Premier League
- Jurgen Klopp has said he will speak to Salah about whether he stays on penalties
Jurgen Klopp has reportedly refused to confirm that Mohamed Salah will remain as Liverpool’s penalty taker following the Egyptian’s two key misses from the spot in recent weeks.
Salah has been Liverpool’s first-choice option for spot-kicks over the past few seasons, and had an excellent record prior to the current campaign, failing to score 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, spurning the opportunity to bring his side level in the match, and then missed the target again in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal as Klopp’s men fell just short of taking all three points after coming from two goals down.
Klopp has now vowed to address the situation by speaking to Salah about whether it is best to keep him on penalties or pass on the responsibility to someone else in the squad, according to The Times.
If Salah does opt to step away from penalties for now, it is not completely clear as to who would step up as his replacement.
Mohamed Salah has missed his last two penalties for Liverpool, putting both efforts wide
He was visibly frustrated after missing against Arsenal as he let the Gunners off the hook
Jurgen Klopp has said he will speak to Salah about whether he should stay on penalties or not
James Milner took Liverpool’s penalties during the early stages of his Anfield career and has only missed twice in his time on Merseyside, but he has not taken a spot-kick in regular time since December 2019 and is not a regular starter anymore.
Still, it appears Klopp should have plenty of options to choose from given Liverpool’s recent record in penalty shootouts.
The Reds have triumphed in their last four shootouts, with two of those helping them win the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals against Chelsea last season.
The former final saw all 11 Liverpool players convert their penalties before Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga blasted his effort over to hand Liverpool a dramatic 11-10 victory.
Salah is set to be back in action tonight when Liverpool travel to relegation-threatened Leeds.
The 30-year-old has taken three penalties against Leeds before, scoring all of them.
Klopp’s team are currently 12 points outside the top four and without a win in their last five matches, but still have a glimmer of hope of chasing down those ahead of them after Newcastle and Tottenham both slipped to defeats over the weekend.
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