Liverpool have struggled to be clinical in front of goal in recent weeks as they continue to battle for the Premier League title.
Jurgen Klopp’s team crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday night – despite a 1-0 win over Atalanta in Bergamo. However, a 3-0 home defeat in the first-leg meant the Reds were beaten 3-1 on aggregate.
Having also lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace last weekend, the Reds sit two points adrift of leaders Manchester City in the league table. Arsenal also sit level on points with Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Reds’ form, however, has fallen flat in the past fortnight, and one of their main issues has been not taking their chances. As a result of some poor finishing, the last time Klopp’s side scored from open play was when Luis Diaz put his side ahead against Manchester United at Old Trafford at the start of this month.
Mohamed Salah has come under fire for his form in front of goal after returning from injury, but Klopp insisted he is not ‘particularly concerned’ over the forward’s recent form.
He said: “That’s what strikers do. We have to go through it, he has to go through it. He is one of the most experienced players in the squad. That’s pretty much all. It’s not that Mo hasn’t missed chances before in his life, that’s part of the game.
“The penalty was super convincing, a super penalty then the next chance that was unlucky, but it’s not the first time he has missed chances like that. I won’t make a big story of it. I’m not particularly concerned.”
In the defeat to Palace at Anfield, the Reds registered 21 attempts, but only six of those were on target. According to Opta, in their last four games, Liverpool have had 43 touches in the opposition box per game – a figure that is higher than their season average of 36.
In those last four games, they also had 78 shots, 19.5 per game on average. But out of those attempts, they have only managed to covert 3.8 percent – a substantial drop from their average per game this campaign, which sits at 12.3 percent. With that said, no side has had more ‘big chances’ than the Reds, with 62.
They are also the team to have struck the goalpost 20 times this season, with Darwin Nunez being the player to have done so the most, hitting the post nine times.
