Who should be Liverpool’s penalty taker?

Fasika
9th April 2023

The question of who should be Liverpool's penalty taker is certainly an interesting one.

While Liverpool have only received one penalty in the this season, it's a debate that must be held.

Liverpool are blessed with several great strikers of the ball but only three of the current squad are top-notch penalty-takers.

Those three are none other than , , and .

James Milner

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

While the Englishman plays the least out of all of them, the question should be altered in his case.

With all three on the pitch, James Milner has an extremely good case to be in charge of penalty duties.

A no-nonsense sort of player, you wouldn't have to worry about Panenka penalties or anything too fancy.

During his Liverpool career, Milner has scored 19 penalties (penalty shoot-outs included) and missed just two.

He last missed a penalty in 2017 in a 3-0 victory against Maribor in the UEFA .

Milner has scored 30 penalties in his entire career and missed just five.

Fabinho

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Unlike his midfield colleague, Fabinho starts most of Liverpool's matches and arrived in as an accomplished penalty-taker.

The Brazilian was the penalty-taker for in a team that had the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Radamel Falcao, Bernardo Silva and others.

He possessed an outstanding record of 21 penalties scored and just one missed in a 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in 2017.

The presence of Milner and Salah at the club when Fabinho arrived drastically decreased the opportunities he'd have to take penalties.

Since his debut in 2018, he's taken just three, with all being taken last season with the Brazilian scoring all of them.

However, his form as of late may mean he might not be as regular in the side as he has been in the past.

Mohamed Salah

Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

We arrive at Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool's record goal scorer in the Premier League and to many, this shouldn't even be a debate.

For most, of course, Salah should be Liverpool's unquestioned penalty-taker.

Salah has taken 28 penalties during his Liverpool career, scoring 24 and missing four.

He most recently missed a second-half penalty in a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth last month.

Famously, the Egyptian netted a penalty in the first minute of the 2019 Champions League final against which Liverpool went on to 2-0.

If you can score a penalty in a high-intensity situation like that, then you should be trusted to have penalty responsibilities at your club.

Are these the only three Liverpool players that should be up for debate when discussing penalty duties or is there someone waiting in the wings to take their spot?

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