Liverpool’s front three explained: The unique roles of each member

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Liverpool probably had the most dynamic front three in world football last season. Now they have the squad numbers to match.

With Barcelona and Real Madrid reverting to different formations, and with Manchester City and Bayern Munich rotating their players, the only trio that could compete with Liverpool is PSG, and their front three was split apart by injury and personal differences.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané started playing so well and in such perfect harmony, you may have forgotten Liverpool sold their one of their best players in January.

But why didn’t they suffer from Philippe Coutinho leaving? What is the unique make-up of Liverpool’s fabulous front three that has allowed them to absorb his departure and take their game onto a spectacular height, powering into the Champions League final and becoming the most prolific trio in the competition’s history on the way?

We here at Squawka have taken a look at each player’s unique role.

No.10: The Booster Rocket

Sadio Mané was Liverpool’s most dynamic player in 2016/17, but with the arrival of Mohamed Salah and the continuing ascendancy of Coutinho, he ended up taking something of a back seat. He became a more simple player, making runs off the ball. But now Coutinho is gone, Mané is embracing his true potential.

From being a driving wing-forward who was so often the beneficiary of Coutinho’s creativity, Mané has become the booster rocket for Liverpool’s attack. Dropping deep to pick the ball up and carrying it forward with great purpose.

The Muslim Marvel now does most of his best work away from the final pass or shot. While he can still pop up in the box with important goals or dribbles (like when he nutmegged Aymeric Laporte in the quarter-final second leg, leading to Liverpool scoring), he is usually the one who gets Liverpool where they need to be: an unheralded but crucial role.

Key stat: Sadio Mane was the only player to score in every round of the 2017/18 Champions League; netting ten goals in total.

No.9: The Supercomputer

Once Mané has carried the ball forward into attack, what he decides to do is usually predicated on what Roberto Firmino has done. The Brazilian’s runs and movement create and destroy space, and they are made with calculated precision. While he gives the allure of a goofy character with his perma-smile, wacky celebrations and intensely white teeth – Firmino is the brains of the attack.

Firmino knows when to drop deep and leave his teammates to it, but equally, he knows when he has to drive forward as the tip of the spear. Whatever Liverpool need him to be, he has the immense skill-set to be it (well, maybe not a traditional No.9).

Firmino understands how to bring the best out of his teammates. He makes decisions at the lightning fast speed of a supercomputer, ensuring the Reds nearly always make the right moves in an attack.

Moreover, without the ball, he is the beacon of Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing. When the opponent is trying to build from the back, Firmino leads the team press. He is the first line of defence because he can diagnose the correct moment to make his move and press an opponent, either head on or running back to pinch the ball out from under their control.

Firmino is the brains of the operation, and Mané is the driving force, but you still need to do damage in the final third. Luckily for Liverpool…

Key stat: Roberto Firmino won 65 tackles in the 2017/18 Premier League season; Jordan Ayew (82) was the only forward with more.

No.11: The Cannon

Mohamed Salah signed for Liverpool in the summer for what seemed an awful lot of money. It wasn’t clear just how well he’d do at first, but Salah dismissed any doubters and has set the Premier League alight. He’s top-scorer in the league, has more debut-season goals than any Liverpool player ever and if he bags another hat-trick he’s honestly within reach of Ian Rush’s impossible 47-goal haul from 1983/84.

What Salah brings is obvious: goals. But it’s not just the sheer volume of them (although that matters a lot); it’s the way in which he gets them. The lightning fast wing-forward torments full-backs and hammers in all manner of incredible finishes with his cannon of a left foot, right when his club need them most. Who scored the goal that buried Manchester City’s comeback at the Etihad? Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian may dribble like Leo Messi (oh, yeah, he’s a sublime dribbler with 2.55 take-ons completed per-90) but he’s the closest thing to Cristiano Ronaldo that the Premier League has seen since the Portuguese left for Madrid. And if the magnificent Muslim can replicate Cristiano’s ascension to goalscoring godhood, Liverpool’s front three may just attain immortality.

Key stat: Mohamed Salah is only player to score 32 goals in a single 38-game Premier League season.

The post Liverpool’s front three explained: The unique roles of each member appeared first on Squawka News.



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