Mo Salah’s Silent Final Echoes History: Which Liverpool Icons Went Missing Before?
Liverpool put in one of their worst performances of the season (perhaps the worst) during their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final earlier this month, with Federico Chiesa’s stoppage time goal proving to be a mere footnote on a day of celebration for the Magpies.
It was a contest in which almost every Reds player failed to reach anywhere near their best levels, and one such culprit was Mo Salah, who never got into the game at all as he touched the ball only 23 times in the entire match and didn’t register a single shot. Anyone who backed him as first goalscorer through Legalbet.uk would’ve been lamenting his unusually tepid display.
The Egyptian has been immense for his club this season (32 goals and 22 assists), but unfortunately he had a real off-day at Wembley. However, it’s far from the first time that a top-quality LFC player has disappointed in a final.
Adam Lallana (2018 Champions League final)
Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Kyiv will forever be synonymous with two costly errors by Loris Karius, but he wasn’t the only Reds player who didn’t perform to their usual level that night.
Lallana was thrust into the fray earlier than expected, having replaced a tearful Salah after just 30 minutes as the Egyptian was forced off by a nefarious hatchet job from Sergio Ramos.
Although the ex-Southampton man wasn’t long back from injury and had been thrown in at the deep end somewhat given the undesirable circumstances, his lack of sharpness was evident, and our number 11 was sorely missed.
Bobby Firmino (2016 Carabao Cup final)
The Brazilian had a slow start to life at Anfield after joining from Hoffenheim in 2015 but had been in fine form coming into his first final as a Liverpool player, in which the Reds took on Manchester City.
However, he was head-scratchingly ineffective at Wembley, all too often giving away the ball and being needlessly caught offside, and the link-up play with which he’d later become synonymous was nonexistent here as Jurgen Klopp’s side lost on penalties.
Jay Spearing (2012 FA Cup final)
The academy graduate – who made his presence felt in the recent Liverpool Legends match against their Chelsea counterparts at Anfield – started in the FA Cup final against the Blues 13 years ago, but it’s not a day that he’ll care to remember.
His slack pass inadvertently begun the move which led to Ramires’ opening goal, and he was easily brushed aside by Frank Lampard in the lead-up to Didier Drogba’s strike which doubled the lead. Sir Kenny Dalglish called the midfielder ashore just 10 minutes after half-time.
David James (1996 FA Cup final)
Liverpool had the chance to deny Manchester United a second double in three years when they met in the FA Cup showpiece at the ‘old’ Wembley.
The match against United has gone down in notoriety for the Merseysiders’ white pre-match suits, which were far more eye-catching than the football on show in a terribly dull game, but the Reds’ goalkeeper would bring some unwanted drama to the occasion.
To this day we can’t fathom why he chose to punch rather than gather the ball from David Beckham’s corner kick, and we could only watch on in woe as it rebounded off Ian Rush and into the path of Eric Cantona, who struck the winner to settle a dismal contest.
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