Concern despite Salah brilliance
MIDFIELD WOES: OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN’S SEASON DONE
Reds’ engine-room is looking a little threadbare.
London
Mohamed Salah’s brilliance has taken most of the focus away from Liverpool’s midfield concerns as they seek to finish a memorable season in style.
Juergen Klopp’s side host Stoke City in the Premier League today with confidence sky-high after Tuesday’s spectacular 5-2 victory over Roma in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.
Salah produced a masterclass against his former club, scoring twice and providing two assists as he took his club total for the season to 43. Four more goals would equal Ian Rush’s Liverpool record for goals in one season, set in 1983/84.
The Egyptian is expected to start today.
Yet while there was much talk after the game of the Egypt winger being a serious contender for the Ballon d’Or, there was also concern about the season-ending injury to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, which could have serious implications for Liverpool’s ambitions.
The England international will miss the World Cup after suffering knee ligament damage in making a challenge on Aleksandar Kolarov.
Liverpool are already short of options in midfield, with Emre Can absent because of a bad back and Adam Lallana, who has endured a dreadful season with injuries, recovering from a hamstring problem.
Klopp’s only available senior midfielders are the three players who finished Tuesday’s match – Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner – and he can ill-afford to lose any of them to injury before the second leg of the Roma tie in Italy on Wednesday.
Should Klopp decide to stick with 4-3-3, then that may well see Ben Woodburn given a rare chance.
The 18-year-old Wales international has played just 45 minutes of first-team football for Liverpool this season, with injury and illness a partial factor, although he is fully fit now and has been featuring regularly for the club’s Under-23 side. –