After missing Mohamed Salah, what do Liverpool ACTUALLY do when one of thrilling front three are injured?
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
-
Liverpool have been without Mané, Salah or Firmino on several occasions - so what happens? Firmino, Mané and Salah rarely miss game time, but what happens when they do? (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Of all the attributes Mohamed Salah possesses, his durability is the one which is probably slept on the most.
Before Sunday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United, the last time the Egyptian missed a league game for Liverpool came 18 months ago, in a 0-0 draw at Everton. Last season, he started 37, and came on as substitute in the other (a 3-1 win at Burnley in December). Given the injury sustained against Real Madrid CF in the 2018 Champions League final, such consistency is astonishing.
Perhaps Jürgen Klopp can be forgiven if he is found second-guessing himself in Salah's absence. He was, of course, missing against FC Barcelona on that magical May night, but that was a game which lacked any real notion of logic. Something different, something intangible and unquantifiable, happened under the floodlights that night.
Old Trafford was different. With no Salah, he opted for the obvious replacement: Divock Origi. But while it brought in a fresh face into the front three, already forcibly altering its make-up, it also moved Sadio Mané to the right-hand side. Klopp would spend the rest of the game trying to get the Senegalese star more central, and more involved, than he often found himself on the right.
A fruitful August featured a perfect start to the Premier League season and UEFA Super Cup glory for Liverpool. Having begun the month with a penalty shootout defeat by Manchester City in the FA Community Shield, the Reds bounced back immediately to beat Norwich City 4-1 at Anfield on the opening day of the top-flight campaign. An own goal by Grant Hanley and strikes from Mohamed Salah , Divock Origi and Virgil van Dijk - who would be named UEFA Men's Player of the Year later in August - saw Jürgen Klopp's side surge into a four-goal, half-time lead. An eventful first 45 minutes also saw Adrian make his debut for the club just four days after signing, the goalkeeper replacing the injured Alisson Becker for his first of 11 consecutive appearances in the league and Europe. And, five days later, the Spaniard would prove to be Liverpool's hero in Istanbul. Following a 2-2 draw after extra-time, the Reds overcame Chelsea on pe...
Liverpool FC S ince they were founded in 1892, the Liverpool Football Club name was synonymous with fame and glory. Both domestically and internationally, Liverpool is the most successful British club of all time; they have won 18 League titles, 8 League Cups, 7 FA Cups, 5 European Cups and 3 UEFA Cups. They are one of the most popular football teams in the world, with over 200 supporter clubs in at least 50 different countries. And yet, their magnificent history will forever be plagued by two of the worst stadium disasters of all time: Heysel and Hillsborough. Liverpool team picture from the club's first season. History Following the moving of Everton to Goodison Park in 1892, the club's then-president John Houlding suddenly found himself with the rights to Anfield stadium and no team to play on it. Always a practical man, Houlding quickly decided to circumvent this problem by forming his own club – Liverpool (should not be confused Liverpool Ramblers...
Comments