Liverpool analysis – Mohamed Salah chases Steven Gerrard as Ibrahima Konaté finds himself in trouble

Liverpool analysis – Mohamed Salah chases Steven Gerrard as Ibrahima Konaté finds himself in trouble

Ian Doyle’s analysis of Liverpool after beating Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the Premier League at Anfield

Salah pursues Gerrard

Mohamed Salah has reached the point in his incredible

Gerrard

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool career where another landmark pops up almost every time he steps onto the pitch.

That was the case here against Nottingham Forest as the Reds winners were ranked sixth on the club’s all-time goalscoring chart with 183 goals alongside Robbie Fowler.

Steven Gerrard, seated in the main stand and watching with his son Lio – who was Salah’s mascot on matchday and scored a half-time penalty in front of a cheering Kop – is next at 186, a tally that the ‘Egyptian hopes to equal this season. while posting another 30-goal campaign. It is now 27.
Villas in Dubai

Salah wasn’t quite at his best against Forest but, as always, there was no doubting his dedication and performance on the job. Whenever the attacker is knocked down, he always comes back

And this was epitomized by the decisive goal, Salah headed over yet again to win a free kick wide, then brushed it before showing real strength to keep his marker at bay and fight back as hard as possible. quickly to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s beaten shot at the far post.

In a season of such changes, Egyptian has been a reassuring constant. Never take it for granted.
The consolidated reality emerges

There was a time when the constant waste of set pieces led to a Liverpool fanzine calling itself ‘Another Wasted Corner’.
However, a lot has changed since then, especially under Jurgen Klopp, where the importance of dead-ball situations has long been emphasised.

And that came into play here, as all three of the Reds’ goals came from restarts, with Forest initially failing to properly defend a corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold and later free-kicks from the same player and Andy Robertson. No team has scored more goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season than Liverpool, with 14.

In truth, it was no different to the game at the City Ground in October, although the Reds were unable to take advantage then and collapsed to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat after failing to manage the one of Forest’s rare set pieces. .

And that failure was demonstrated again as the visitors took advantage of Liverpool’s inability to defend against Moussa Niakhate’s long shots to score their second equaliser. More throws caused chaos in the Liverpool backline as Brennan Johnson hit the bar and Taiwo Awoniyi landed a kick just over the top.

Granted, Ibrahima Konate struggled to cope in the final half, while Virgil van Dijk was oddly nervous and hesitant the entire time. The centre-back pair ended up being close, but they will be grateful to have avoided such a barrage again this season.
The reds have Eurovision

There has been a recurring and unusual aspect of Liverpool games since last month’s international break.

The visit to Chelsea aside – and who wants to remember that? – The Reds have been involved in games that no doubt worried their opponents. First title challengers Manchester City and Arsenal in back-to-back weeks, then relegation-threatened Leeds United and this time Forest. Strange for a team that has become accustomed to fighting until the last day of the championship for a tangible prize under Jurgen Klopp.

However, the season is not without objectives, the first of which is European qualification, Liverpool are now just three points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Fourth-placed Newcastle United are a further three points ahead, but with a game in hand, enticing enough not to completely dash any hopes of a notable Champions League place for the Reds.

And the victory made Klopp only the fourth Liverpool manager to reach 100 league wins at Anfield. The German did it in 144 games, faster than Tom Watson (166) but not as fast as Bill Shankly (139) or Bob Paisley (131). It’s still a rare business.

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