Michael Owen has suggested that Liverpool duo Mo Salah and Sadio Mane are not natural finishers following their 1-1 draw with Newcastle.
For all of the goals and their efficiency in front of goal, Michael Owen insists that Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are not players one can confidently rely on for goals. This statement comes in the wake of Liverpool’s wasted chances in front of goal against Newcastle at the weekend.
The Reds were the better side against Steve Bruce’s men. They had 22 shots over the course of the 90 minutes, but they only converted one of these chances.
That goal came in the third minute via a piece of individual skill and control from Salah.
However, they were punished for not adding to their lead as Joe Willock grabbed an equalizer for the Magpies in stoppage time.
After the game, Owen insinuated that Liverpool’s missed chances prove that Salah and Mane are not natural finishers.
He said as quoted by talkSPORT: “That’s the problem: Mane, brilliant player, scores lots of goals. Salah, unbelievable player as well, scores lots of goals.
“But they’re not natural finishers, they’re not someone that you can hang your hat on.
“They’ve scored goals consistently because Liverpool have, like today, created so many chances.
“But they’ve been wanting, or the team have been found wanting a lot of the season with missed chances.”
Owen continued on Liverpool’s wasted chances: “We scored a wonderful goal, [but] didn’t finish the game off. [We] didn’t play enough. A counter attack can happen but we had to just keep going, keep the ball and make them run.
“We kept them alive and they deserved the goal. They scored the one before, unlucky for Wilson but it is handball. We don’t even take this present. [It’s] really tough to take.
“Why it happened, I don’t know. We had to keep the ball. In a specific way we don’t fight enough or keep ourselves in a position where we dominate the game.”
The result saw Liverpool suffer yet another blow as they aim to finish the season on a positive note, by securing a Champions League spot.
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