Liverpool have another penalty specialist in the form of Darwin Nunez. The Reds already had top penalty-tacking players in the form of Mohamed Salah and James Milner. Salah and Milner will relish the Liverpool squad competition for taking penalties.
Liverpool profited from their expertise around penalty shootouts this season. Jurgen Klopp’s men reached three cup finals. They won the trophy in two of them through penalties. The two trophies came in the form of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. The Reds took a total of 17 penalties across both finals.
Even Caoimhin Kelleher the club’s goalkeeper managed to find the net against Chelsea in February. They have only missed one penalty across both finals. The reason for such a high conversion rate of penalties is the elite takers they have in their squad.
SALAH AND MILNER WILL RELISH THE COMPETITION WITHIN THE LIVERPOOL SQUAD FOR PENALTIES
James Milner is the designated first-choice option. Over the course of his career in the Premier League, he has scored 17 of his 19 efforts from the spot. Behind him is usually Mohammed Salah. The Egyptian has scored in 18 of his 20 penalties in the Premier League. Klopp also has a number of alternative options beyond those two players. Other squad players like Mane, Virgil Van Djik, Fabinho, and Thiago are reliable options. Fabinho even had a 100% conversion rate, when he was at Monaco. The Reds have now added one more player to their strength. The name is Darwin Nunez who signed from Benfica for an initial fee of 64m rising to 85m. The Uruguayan striker scored 32 goals in all competitions last season.
The 22-year-old striker converted 27.2% of his shots in the Portuguese top league. This is the highest conversion rate of all players across Europe’s top five leagues. In his career, he’s taken a total of 10 penalties. He is yet to miss one of the penalties. He’s unlikely to take duties from Salah or Milner in his debut season at Anfield. Although, both the players could realistically depart next year after their contracts have expired on Merseyside. But, one thing is certain Klopp has again strengthened the team’s prowess during high-profile shootouts.
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