Mohamed Salah remains the club’s designated penalty taker despite a couple of misses in recent seasons, but does he have the best record in the Liverpool squad?
The Egyptian missed from the spot for the fourth time in his last 11 attempts at home to Newcastle on New Year’s Day, but later rectified the matter by rounding off the scoring with a penalty in the 4-2 win.
His first-half miss was his sixth since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, having taken the reigns from James Milner as his role within the side began to decrease.
With a wealth of proficient options in the squad when it comes to penalty taking, it led to questions about whether anybody else deserves a shot at the responsibilities.
It would take a brave man to wrestle the ball from Salah’s grasp from 12 yards, but here’s a look at what the numbers tell us!
Mohamed Salah
Scored: 36
Missed: 9
Percentage: 80%
He scored from the spot on the biggest stage of all in Madrid and sits fifth on the all-time list of penalty scorers for the club on 31.
There have been occasional failures, though, with the No. 11 having missed seven for the Reds and a further two for his country.
It is an impressive record nonetheless, and his stature at the club means it would take something extremely special for the role to be taken off him in the foreseeable future.
Darwin Nunez
Scored: 12
Missed: 0
Percentage: 100%
You’d struggle to find a more impressive record than that of Darwin Nunez, who is yet to miss from the spot in his professional career.
The Uruguayan has taken just one penalty for the Reds in the Europa League victory away at LASK back in September, but was prolific during his spells at Benfica and UD Almeria.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Scored: 15
Missed: 1
Percentage: 93.75%
Another player who will fancy his chances of putting the pressure on Salah is Dominik Szoboszlai, who has missed just one senior penalty so far.
The Hungarian is yet to take a spot-kick under Jurgen Klopp, but was a reliable source of goals from 12 yards for RB Leipzig and has also assumed the role for his country.
Liverpool’s No. 8 has typically fired to the goalkeeper’s right when handed the ball, but his record is a solid one despite the element of predictability.
Alexis Mac Allister
Scored: 8
Missed: 1
Percentage: 88.89%
Another player who has missed just once from 12 yards is Alexis Mac Allister, who became the man to rely upon during his time at Brighton.
He would likely have taken a penalty for Argentina in the World Cup final had he not been substituted with a couple of minutes to go, but despite his impressive ratio, he has taken the least number of spot-kicks of the four options.
Surprisingly, Salah in fact has the lowest percentage of penalties scored out of Liverpool’s recognised takers.
The volume of kicks he has taken should be taken into account, though, with perfection more difficult to sustain the more often a player is called upon.
Nunez has an unblemished record and a series of penalties could be the perfect way to build confidence in front of goal, but Salah is unlikely to give up the ball without a fight any time soon.
Liverpool’s three understudies will all be ready to pounce should the Egyptian blink again, but his place within the leadership group and in club folklore means he remains in a position of power.
Who do you think the Reds’ long-term taker should be? Let us know in the comments!
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