James Milner is Liverpool’s #1 penalty taker, confirms Jurgen Klopp
Last Updated: December 27, 2020 2:22 pm
Milner is number 1
Considering how frequently Mohamed Salah smashes in a penalty for Liverpool, it may come as a surprise to hear that he is in fact not the club’s number one penalty taker.
Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that it is in fact James Milner who has long held first-choice spot-kick responsibility for the Reds. Salah has managed to convert his last 7 penalties, but this is not something which Klopp views as a deciding factor in choosing his no.1 from 12 yards:
“James Milner is No.1 penalty taker, but when James is not playing then it’s Mo. When Millie is on the pitch then he can decide,” Klopp said. “How it is always, sometimes you don’t feel 1,000 per cent or you think, ‘He’s scored two already’ and this kind of stuff. That didn’t change, we didn’t speak about it for a long, long time.
“Most the time, probably Millie was not on the pitch but I think I remember at least once when Millie was on the pitch and gave it to Mo. For me, it is only important that the ball is in the back of the net after whichever player from my team shot the ball.
“Millie gave us a pretty impressive number of penalties he finished off and Mo as well. So, that’s for me both fine and that’s how it is in the moment, that’s how the decision is.”
Based on the words of the German coach, it seems obvious that Klopp is not too concerned about how his side’s spot-kick pecking order is decided upon, as long as Liverpool go on to score.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 24: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool scores his team’s third goal from the penalty spot past Milan Borjan of FK Crvena Zvezda during the Group C match of the UEFA Champions League between Liverpool and FK Crvena Zvezda at Anfield on October 24, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Klopp wary of Allardyce
Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 6 points on Sunday, when they face Sam Allardyce’s West Brom side. The Baggies recently sacked Slaven Bilic, after the Croatian coach failed to move the club away from the relegation zone.
In turn, Klopp has this weekend opened up on his past experiences of facing Allardyce-led sides, explaining:
“I haven’t got to know him too well, we only met at the sideline and obviously he is very animated and I’m very animated but I respect him a lot,” Klopp told Sky Sports News. “West Brom is in a difficult situation and they decided to bring in Sam and he has a proven record in these kind of situations.”
“So we are aware of that and it will be a tricky one because, I wouldn’t say we are obsessed, but we love to analyse the opponent before a game to know as much as we can.”
“That makes it really difficult this time because Sam had only three or four days before he played against Aston Villa so maybe not too many changes before that. But now a full training week for our game so he can change a lot of things.”
Allardyce experienced a tricky opening outing in the West Brom dugout, losing 3-0 at home to Birmingham rivals Aston Villa. The former Bolton boss also lost Jake Livermore to a red card, which will only compound his side’s issues.
However, a return for Matheus Pereira will no doubt be greatly welcomed, after the Brazilian completed his 3-match suspension for his own red card during a 5-1 loss to Crystal Palace.
James Milner slams VAR after Liverpool’s draw with Brighton but is there bias in the midfielder’s words?
West Bromwich Albion replace sacked Slaven Bilic with Sam Allardyce.. but was it the right choice?
This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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Liverpool vs Burnley odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Liverpool vs Burnley Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 15/8 | 4/5 |
| Burnley | 22/1 | 20/1 |
| Draw | 10/1 | 18/1 |
| Liverpool vs Burnley Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mohamed Salah | 11/10 | 11/10 | 2/5 |
| Sadio Mane | 11/8 | 11/8 | 1/2 |
| Divock Origi | 11/5 | 11/5 | 5/6 |
| Roberto Firmino | 12/5 | 12/5 | 20/21 |
| Takumi Minamino | 3/1 | 3/1 | 5/4 |
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United FC | 17 | 10 | 36 |
| 2 | Leicester City FC | 18 | 12 | 35 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 17 | 16 | 33 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 5 | Manchester City FC | 16 | 12 | 32 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | Chelsea FC | 18 | 12 | 29 |
| 8 | Southampton FC | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 9 | West Ham United FC | 18 | 4 | 29 |
| 10 | Aston Villa FC | 15 | 13 | 26 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 18 | 1 | 24 |
| 12 | Leeds United | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 18 | -7 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle United FC | 17 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 17 | -13 | 16 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 17 | -11 | 12 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 18 | -27 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 19 | -22 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 5 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 8 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
