Liverpool fans are not happy with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
The Reds lost to Arsenal in the Community Shield following a 1-1 draw in ordinary time. The Gunners won the penalty shootout thanks to Rhian Brewster’s miss, but should it have even got to that?
Jurgen Klopp fielded his first choice front three but it took the introduction of Takumi Minamino to level proceedings as the Japanese international scored his first goal for the club.
Klopp recognised the toothless nature of the attack and called for more creativity moving forward, especially against teams like Arsenal who defend deep and invite Liverpool onto them – wrote Matt Porter in the MailOnline.
"“In these games you need the final punch. We should’ve created more but we had to be careful.“When you play against a formation like this, which happens to us always, you need to be really fresh in the final third. You have to force it sometimes, create angles, pass in behind.“We couldn’t create exactly the chances we wanted.”"
Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were unable to find a way through Mikel Arteta’s organised Arsenal team, and they have been criticised for their lack of innovation and cutting edge.
Mane, Firmino and Salah were all dreadful today, but they can continue putting in those performances because they know Origi is the alternative.
— Laurie (@LFCLaurie) August 29, 2020
The pair are so good that any slump in from won’t last long, and you don’t get Barcelona throwing around €120 million deals for players who aren’t any good – even if their transfer record has been iffy over the last five years.
One major problem could be the lack of genuine, elite talent pushing the front three. With just Divock Origi, Minamino, Xherdan Shaqiri and Rhian Brewster in the squad, Salah, Mane and Roberto Firmino can be pretty comfortable in the knowledge that they lack serious competition.
It hasn’t been a problem before, but after winning nearly every trophy available, a little drop off in concentration or desire is only human – especially without any serious pressure coming from below.
Signing Timo Werner would have done this, although we all know Liverpool weren’t in the financial position to pull off that deal.
We’re unlikely to see any new players coming in that play that role, while Brewster and Origi could still depart. Shaqiri and Harry Wilson will also be sold if someone comes in with a suitable offer.
Leeds United are first up when the Premier League starts, and we should feel confident that Mane and Salah will have their shooting boots back by then.