Mohamed Salah has a penalty problem at Liverpool – so who could replace him?

Anfield held its breath as Mohamed Salah assumed his ‘Superman’ stance at the edge of the box and took a deep breath.

Aaron Ramsdale was the only thing between him and levelling Sunday’s thrilling encounter between Arsenal and Liverpool from the penalty spot. His previous penalty, at Bournemouth a month earlier, had been fired wide of the top left corner. Liverpool lost that day, 1-0.

Jurgen Klopp couldn’t watch, turning away from the action to face the Main Stand. He did not see the Egyptian stride up to the ball, and sidefoot a shot firm and low to Ramsdale’s right.

For a split second, the Anfield crowd’s response was enough to convince Klopp that Salah had made it 2-2 — he even offered a small fist pump of celebration. Then reality bit. Those fans were groaning, not cheering: Salah had put his spot kick wide of Ramsdale’s right-hand post.

Liverpool ultimately did secure a point against Arsenal, but that has not silenced the debate over whether Salah should be kept on penalty duties — a situation Klopp admitted will now be discussed internally.

So, should Salah be allowed to keep taking them — or is it time for Klopp to look elsewhere?

What does the data say?

For much of his Liverpool career, Salah has been a guaranteed goal from the penalty spot.

His most memorable one, early in the 2018-19 Champions League final win over Tottenham Hotspur, was part of a streak of 17 consecutive successful spot kicks, after he missed his first for Liverpool against Huddersfield Town in October 2017.

In total, Salah has taken 29 penalties for the club (excluding shootouts) and scored 24 — a success rate of 83 per cent. But perhaps more significant is his recent record: of his past 11, he has only put away seven — a more troubling conversion rate of 64 per cent.

Salah scored this penalty against Rangers earlier this season but his record has taken a hit (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Has he changed his technique?

Yes… and no.

Salah’s stance and run-up remain the same. As shown against Arsenal at the weekend, Salah always adopts that Superman stance, breathing deeply to control his emotions.

He then takes three or four (against Arsenal it was three) paces to his right to bend his run-up and once he gets to the edge of the 18-yard box, he takes five or six steps towards the ball.

Despite his excellent record, there has been criticism surrounding Salah’s penalties.

He normally shoots powerfully but avoids risky shots far into either corner, which gives goalkeepers the opportunity to make a save. When he does deviate from more central placements, his inaccuracy can cost him.

His misses against AC Milan and Leicester City last season were both saves in the middle of the goal. The latter would prove costly as Liverpool went on to lose the game 1-0 — it gave their opponents hope after a dominant opening period, which Salah failed to capitalise on from the spot.

On Salah’s two most recent penalties, he has opted for precision: against Bournemouth, he aimed for the top-left corner, with a powerful strike…

…and in the Arsenal game he went for the bottom-left corner with a softer effort.

The results, however, were the same.

Graham Alexander had an impeccable penalty record throughout a 20-year senior career that began in the early 1990s, missing only four of 72 penalties, excluding shootouts.

“He’s been so successful with his technique and run-up that it’s impossible to say what he should have done. His success rate shows it works,” the former Preston North End and Burnley player says of Salah. “The one on Sunday — six inches to the right, then the goalkeeper is rooted to the spot, it’s right in the corner and it’s a great penalty. They are the fine margins.

“People say professionals shouldn’t miss the target but that’s wrong because if you take the goalkeeper out of it everyone would hit the target. It’s when you try to be really precise and get it as far into the corner as you can, the room for error is a lot less.

“If you miss one, you want to be even more precise with the next one to make sure you score. That’s what it looks like Salah has done, aimed right for the corner, but he hasn’t got the accuracy.”

Was he thinking about the Bournemouth miss when stepping forward to take Sunday’s penalty? Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believed so. ”I just think the fact that he missed the last one, he’s almost tried to be too precise and get it in off the post,” he said during Sky Sports’ UK broadcast of the Arsenal match.

GO DEEPER

Superman pose, power and mindfulness: Examining Salah's Liverpool penalties

Carragher’s Sky colleague Roy Keane was scathing in his assessment.

“I didn’t fancy him,” he said. “He missed a penalty a few weeks ago at Bournemouth, missed the target, and I nearly put my foot through the television watching it because he was smiling for about five minutes after he missed it. Today, I just didn’t feel it in my gut (that he would score).”

Mentality can certainly play a huge part in penalty-taking.

“Even if there are a few games in between, it is still in your mind and that’s when you try to control your emotions,” says Alexander. “He’ll want to take the next one (Liverpool are awarded) — and as soon as possible to wipe it out.

“I always felt a bit more pressure after missing because I always thought if I missed two then someone else has a rightful claim to take them off me.”

Rather than focus on the Bournemouth miss, perhaps we should look further back — to the Africa Cup of Nations in February of last year — as the source of Salah’s struggles from the spot.

His Egypt side found themselves pitched into a penalty shootout against Senegal in the final. Salah was — it is widely assumed — down to take their fifth kick, but he never got the chance: two misses by team-mates meant the shootout was lost 4-2 before Salah was even able to step forward. As the captain, he was criticised in the aftermath for not insisting on going earlier in the order.

Just over a month later Egypt were in another penalty shootout against Senegal, this time in a World Cup qualification play-off. Salah took the first penalty this time. With lasers being shone into his eyes by home fans in Senegalese capital Dakar, he used his usual technique but blazed his shot over the bar. Egypt went on to lose that shootout 3-1, so missing out on a place at Qatar 2022.

Sadio Mane scored the decisive penalty for Senegal to book their place at the World Cup at the expense of Mo Salah's Egypt 😬 pic.twitter.com/HZ2anDNnlE

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 30, 2022

Salah would score his next five penalties for Liverpool after AFCON. Three of them were aimed to the right of the goal and they were noticeably more controlled, hit right into the corner, including his double against Leeds United last February and one in August’s Community Shield against Manchester City…

… and the other two were fired down the middle. None were hit to the left.

But such moments can leave psychological scars. Missing the target twice, on consecutive penalties, is certainly concerning and begs the question of whether he should be withdrawn from his long-time role by Klopp.

Who are the other options?

Only four other Liverpool players have taken penalties for the club, outside shootouts, since Salah joined in the summer of 2017.

Before Salah arrived from Roma, James Milner was Klopp’s regular penalty taker and has still done the job on occasions since the Egyptian signed. His record is excellent, netting 19 of his 21 Liverpool spot kicks in all competitions (not including shootouts, like the rest of the numbers in this article) but at age 37 and with his contract expiring at the end of this season he has a reduced role in the squad these days, which probably rules him out.

Roberto Firmino‘s situation is similar to Milner’s as he has become a squad player. He is also leaving Anfield in the summer so giving him the job would not make sense long-term. And it would be a gamble anyway, with the Brazilian netting only two of his four penalties for the club.

Jordan Henderson has a 100 per cent record but has only taken one — in April 2015 against Arsenal, and though he scored it was far from convincing.

Fabinho arrived at Anfield five years ago with a good reputation from the spot for previous club Monaco. Despite missing his first in a pre-season friendly in 2018, in competitive games, he is three from three for Liverpool. He is still a regular starter, too, but what of the midfielder’s confidence, which may have taken a significant hit this season due to his all-round form?

Trent Alexander-Arnold is a dead-ball specialist and has dispatched both his penalties in trophy-winning shootouts. As a first-team regular, it may well be a role suited to him, given he strikes the ball so cleanly. Defensive colleague Virgil van Dijk‘s penalty in last season’s Carabao Cup final, outwitting Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga with a thumping strike, could make him an option, but he did miss a penalty in last year’s World Cup for the Netherlands.

Logically, Liverpool’s other forward options should be viewed as potential replacements. Latest arrival Cody Gakpo scored two penalties for PSV Eindhoven earlier this season before his January move to Anfield. He has scored three out of four from the spot in his first-team career.

Cody Gakpo could be an alternative option for Liverpool when it comes to penalties (Photo: Thor Wegner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Though the return to fitness of Luis Diaz has been highly anticipated after six months out, it is not for his efficiency on penalties: one taken, one missed for previous club Porto. Diogo Jota, meanwhile, did score one for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship and netted in those Carabao Cup and FA Cup final shootouts last year.

Then again, the answer may well be Darwin Nunez. Since the start of 2019-20, the Uruguayan has scored 11 penalties from 11 attempts, including one against Barcelona in the Champions League. Liverpool paid big money for the 23-year-old to become their goalscorer — how long until penalties are added to his list of responsibilities?

(Top photo: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)