SALAH STRUGGLING AS LIVERPOOL’S FRONT THREE NO LONGER ‘WELL-DRILLED’: KLOPP

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is having trouble scoring goals because the team no longer has the “well-drilled” front three that terrorized defenses in the past, according to manager Juergen Klopp.

Salah has 17 goals overall at the midway point of the season, but only seven of those have come in the Premier League, where he previously averaged roughly 24 goals per season while playing for Liverpool.

The Egyptian attacker has won three Golden Boots for scoring the most goals in a season, but he hasn’t been at his best since Sadio Mane left for Liverpool in the summer and Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, and Luis Diaz got hurt.

Naturally, Mo is in pain. The front three were well-drilled machines, and everything we did was clear. It’s obvious that everyone experiences that, Klopp told the press.

“It is a specific offensive play that takes a lot of effort and knowledge—knowledge that isn’t always obvious. Many of these concepts—such as where your teammate is and where to pass the ball without looking—are created through emotion.

While Jota, Firmino, and Diaz haven’t played since the World Cup, Mane moved to Bayern Munich during the offseason, and Liverpool dropped to ninth in the rankings.

Cody Gakpo, a Dutch attacker who Liverpool acquired in the middle of the season but is still acclimating to, strengthened the team’s assault. Darwin Nunez, however, has not been reliable, scoring just one goal in the FA Cup since the season resumed last month.

“A few more possibilities will be available in two or three weeks, so we can switch things up. Darwin clearly plays higher up and goes in behind,” continued Klopp.

“Never before have we played with a (number) nine. Sadio played at the position in which he occasionally dropped back even then. Darwin doesn’t play that kind of game; he prefers to have balls at his feet, where he can be a real handful. If they could all come in and we could construct something, that would be great, but that hasn’t happened yet.