How Mo Salah Shot Santa Claus

Which Liverpool Players Should Shoot From Distance, And Why Salah Isn't One of Them

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I feel that Liverpool are set really nicely for a successful 2024, as a newer, younger side gels and gets used to a new way of playing.

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Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Szoboszlai, Elliott, Gakpo and others, and wisely choosing the ideal range to shoot from

My hunch lately, as discussed a few times now, is that you can outscore your xG by having smart shots from “distance”, but only if there's adequate time to get a proper shot away, and if the distance is realistic.

It's not always about the distance, but the situation.

I'm trying to see if Liverpool have found a sweet-spot between Big Chances, which right now they are not great at converting (enough to do okay in the box in general, but with a big loss of goals within the six-yard box), and lower value shots that extra-talented shooters can convert at a better than normal rate.

That said, while I think shooting from a bit further out is now wiser than at times in the recent past, I've never been one for potshots.

The opposite end of the spectrum is a team always looking to make one more pass, always seeking the perfect opening, and never getting a shot away. The best teams can do almost everything, but have to know when to use each particular skill.

What I did in the week before the Arsenal game was to look at all the goal locations for Liverpool players over the past few years (at the club, and at previous clubs), and to look for changes in patterns.

Much of the results match my own eye-test, as to who I think should and shouldn't be shooting from distance.

Mo Salah failed with all of around 100 attempts across 2.5 seasons from a specific area of the final third that I'd highlighted – only for him to then successfully buck that trend a few days later vs the Gunners (more on that later).

We also saw against West Ham in midweek some superb shooting from distance, but the perfect balance of unsettling with shots from 20-25 yards (Harvey Elliott) and then taking the lead from closer to 30 yards, before creating various Big Chances.

I'll also revisit the other change in the past year or so that I think makes shooting from distance a bit smarter now than even 12-18 months ago.

But while it’s mostly reaping dividends (it’s the only area where the Reds are outscoring their xG in the league, and various distance shots have led to goals in the cups), I don’t think Liverpool’s players have quite settled into the instinctive nature of when to shoot and when to pass.

But then, we’re talking mostly about players at the club for 6-18 months, as well as younger players learning and improving in terms of decision-making. The new midfield has yet to fully integrate with each other, and also with the attackers, as that can't all happen in under half a season.

I'd assume the decision-making will improve as part of a collective integrated improvement, albeit I think Luis Díaz, as one example of someone at the club for almost two years (a long-time servant of the front six!), is utterly mentally and emotionally fatigued after what must have been the most stressful month of his life.

(He 'played through' the torment, and travelled back and forth to South America, but speaking personally as someone who has massive peaks and troughs of adrenaline – to cope with my illness and the work I need to do I can burn out on adrenaline – I think he must be totally frazzled.)

Anyway, onto my analysis of who should shoot from where, and what Salah did that was so different against Arsenal.

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