Liverpool’s forward line has been chastised recently, and for good reason. The reds’ front three scored just one goal in five games, including the home win over fulham and the bore-draw with manchester united. And at crystal palace, it was a deflected strike, though it came from the most unlikely source: mohamed salah. Since the united states match, he has been excellent, scoring against west ham and (more importantly) arsenal. Although salah didn’t score at burnley on boxing day, other forwards did, and the team as a whole has been improving. They were so vital that they did, with the egyptian en route to the africa cup of nations just around the corner.
Cody gakpo was the first player to find form in the last three games, scoring a goal against the hammers and providing an assist for the opener at turf moor. Darwin nez converted the latter for his first goal after 12 games without one, and he was also effective against west ham, teeing up curtis jones for the first time in his brace. Luis daz is one forward who is still trying to get started, though one can only imagine the emotional wrangling he has had in recent months. It’s hoped that his assistance at burnley, his first goal contribution in seven games, would be helpful. It certainly helped diogo jota, who returned from an eight-match injury layoff, to score. He has appeared in four games this season in the 81st minute or later and scored in three of them, which is remarkable. A substitute of this strength is a valuable asset. To begin with, though, jota will be required. Egypt may only be fifth in the afcon standings, but that doesn’t mean they won’t advance to the quarterfinals.
Salah will likely miss six liverpool games and possibly more if his team does better than expected. So, what does jürgen klopp do with his front three when salah is away? After the burnley victory, he described nez and jota as “the two perfect goal scorers” (via liverpool echo), with no doubt that having them in form will be vital. They have also had the pleasure of starting together, having done so on 12 occasions since the start of last season. In october, the two teams met in consecutive matches, scoring against toulouse and nottingham forest.
