The expected goals metric says Liverpool should have scored 14 goals at Anfield since the turn of the year.
With world-class attackers, you’d expect us to have scored between 12 and 16, really – perhaps more if they were on an especially hot run.
But from the xG of 13.78, we’ve notched four times, one of which was a penalty, as the below tweet states:
Liverpool have scored 4 goals from 13.78(xG) at Anfield in 2021.
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) April 26, 2021
There’s been so much focus on our defence, but if our strikers had finished properly, we’d be comfortably in the top four still.
That is appalling. Interestingly, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are both in the top three for players who have the worst goals to xG record, with former Liverpool summer target Timo Werner the other attacker on the podium!
Mo Salah has 29 goals in total this season – which is stunning – especially considering our problems from start to finish in 2020/21.
The Egyptian has been carrying his team-mates on his back, but even he missed some sitters on Saturday…
He can be forgiven, because he finds the net with other opportunities, but right now, when Salah doesn’t win us games, there’s nobody else to step up.
A clinical centre-forward remains an absolute priority this summer, more so than ever.