Mohamed Salah scored the second goal against Manchester United in Liverpool’s 2-0 win. As Jurgen Klopp revealed on Wednesday, the players involved planned it.
“This specific situation with [Alisson] – Mo was actually at the 18-yard box around the corner so he was probably the first one on the pitch who saw the guy will be offside and he was then already on his bike,” the boss said, per the official website. “When Ali kicked the ball there, Mo was really in the perfect position.
“They know each other longer than we know them because they played together at Rome and from the first day since they were in, Mo is asking for these balls and Ali wants to play these balls but we don’t have a lot of times the opportunity to do so, especially with that outcome because usually the opponent is in a different protective formation.”
This kind of planning is actually quite remarkable. Is it any wonder that Liverpool are top of the league, then?
The goal looks simple enough, of course. Alisson lumped it long, Salah picked it up and he sprinted through to score the goal. But there was more to it than that.
For one, as Klopp pointed out, the awareness on show was fantastic. Firstly, there’s Salah spotting the opportunity. He saw how play was developing and got himself in position as fast as he could.
Then there’s Alisson. The Brazilian, when he could have simply held onto the ball to waste time, made sure to check for Salah. The execution was perfect, of course, but seeing it is something else.
They knew to try it because they’ve practiced it. They put in that practice over 18 months, outside of coaching, for one goal in 18 months. A relatively important one, yes, but it’s still just one goal in a very long time.
When you have players devoted to that level, you’re going to win things. And Liverpool are seeing just that.
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