Live

Repeat: Off The Ball

02:00 AM-05:00 AM

Repeat: Off The Ball
Advertisement
Soccer

A Look at Liverpool's Front Three

Liverpool supporters can start having conversations about potential Champions League quarter fina...



A Look at Liverpool's Fron...
Soccer

A Look at Liverpool's Front Three

Liverpool supporters can start having conversations about potential Champions League quarter final opponents and they may even be thinking of going further than the last eight of the competition. Jurgen Klopp's side won 5-0 away to Porto last night thanks mainly to their front three so there's plenty to be optimistic about. Klopp has been asked before why he didn't go after a striker similar to Robert Lewandowski or Harry Kane, who will guarantee you at least 30 goals a season.

That's where Mo Salah comes in. The Egyptian, took his tally to 30 goals for the season in Portugal last night, and in doing so became the first Liverpool player to hit that mark in a single campaign since Luis Suarez in 2013-14. Only 12 players have managed to score 30 goals or more in a season in the club's history and the way he's going, Salah is on course to net more than 40. Salah scored 19 goals for Roma last season so Klopp would have been expecting him to become a regular goalscorer this season. Premier League fans may remember him from his Chelsea days when he was unable to hold down a regular place in Jose Mourinho's side. The same could be said about Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne and now both players are the leading candidates for PFA player of the season.

Klopp is quick to play down the significance of Salah's numbers because he believes in the team dynamic so he will also make sure Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane get mentioned. Firmino has scored 21 goals this season which is already nine more than he did in all of last season. Eight of the Brazilian's goals may have come in Europe but there's no doubt he continues to improve. His link up play with Salah at Southampton last Sunday was superb as they both scored one and assisted one. It's not only his teeth that sparkle on the pitch, making him a firm favourite of Klopp and the Kop.

The final piece of the jigsaw is Sadio Mane. The Senegal international bagged a hat-trick last night to take him up to 12 goals this season, one shy of last season's total. However you have to take into account that last season he left to play in the Africa Cup of Nations and also missed the end of the season through injury. There have been glimpses of quality from Mane this season but there's no doubt he hasn't hit the heights of last season. However Klopp will be hoping he's been saving that for the latter part of the campaign. The front three have a combined 63 goals in all competition and they show no signs of slowing down.

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Soccer