It is no secret that Liverpool has one of the best attacks in Europe. The attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah had lit up the Premier League last season. Now, it seems like they have picked up from where they left off after two of them have found the back of the net against West Ham United at Anfield in the opening match of their new campaign. However, one of the major concerns for the Reds faithful last season was the lack of squad depth.
The Merseyside giants suffered a crucial blow when Salah got injured during the Champions League final clash aganst Real Madrid last term as they did not have a worthy replacement on the bench. Adam Lallana came on but lacked sharpness and put on a lackluster performance for the Reds.
What if one of their front three got injured again? Who can fill their shoes up top? Fear not! Jurgen Klopp has addressed that problem by bringing in Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City this summer while also promoting Daniel Sturridge up the Anfield pecking order. Both Sturridge and Shaqiri linked up well to score some outstanding goals during the Merseyside club’s pre-season matches.
The duo are now expected to come off the bench and make a difference when things are not going Liverpool’s way during matches. Sturridge came on for the final few minutes in their match against the Hammers and had his goal-scoring boots on. The English frontman scored with his first touch at Anfield which once again goes on to show that if fit, Sturridge could be considered as one of the best poachers in English football.
It seems like the 28-year-old has managed to get his sharpness back this season which would only help him bang in more goals for Liverpool. However, the English talent has been plagued with injuries all throughout his Liverpool career which has stopped him from fulfilling his true potential.
If he can stay injury-free, the former Manchester City prospect can be a real difference maker in the Reds’ pursuit of the Premier League title. He has all the makings of a modern-day centre-forward and still has a lot of pace to wreck some havoc up top.
Jurgen Klopp’s team struggled to break down some of the teams who sat back and defended in numbers in the previous campaign. However, with Sturridge available on the bench, Klopp now has a proven goal-scorer to call upon to break deadlocks or score equalizers. Hence, he could be the German manager’s ‘secret weapon’ in the title race as the Reds look to put an end to their 30-year wait for top-flight glory this season.
