The Premier League’s most wasteful players this season have been revealed, with three Liverpool stars ranking inside the top-ten footballers to have missed the most big chances during the 2023-24 campaign.
The Reds have noticeably struggled to find the back of the net of late – and that has been costly, so much so that Liverpool have seemingly dropped out of the title race following their 2-0 defeat by Everton on Wednesday night.
‘I don’t know [if we’re still in the race],’ Klopp admitted after the Merseyside derby. ‘I can only apologise to the people. Everybody who is with us knows how hard this is for us as well, but I know for other people it’s especially hard. So we should have done better but we didn’t and that’s why we lost.’
Frankly, Liverpool have been waning at perhaps the most crucial point of the season.
It is a time when Manchester City normally find their second gear – their 4-0 victory against Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Thursday perhaps attests to that. City are showing no let-up in their attempts to retain their Premier League title and repeat their feats of the 2022-23 campaign, where they snatched the league out of Arsenal‘s clutches.
Jurgen Klopp’s side seemingly dropped out of the title race after their loss against Everton
They succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against their city rivals after failing to convert their chances
Liverpool’s downturn seemed to begin after their 2-2 draw to Manchester United on April 7. They would then suffer a 3-0 defeat by Atalanta at Anfield, which would ultimately see the Reds crash out of the Europa League.
The problem? Liverpool just can’t seem to score at the minute and their forwards appear to have lost their killer instinct. The reds currently hold the unwanted accolade of having the most players represented in the rankings of the league’s worst finishers this season.
At the top of the standings is Manchester City forward Erling Haaland who has missed 30 big chances for Pep Guardiola‘s side, but still sits joint-top of the Premier League Golden Boot race.
Darwin Nunez, who failed to convert several attempts against Everton on Wednesday, sits second in the leaderboard, having missed 26 big chances this season.
Since joining Liverpool, the Uruguayan has grown to becoming a favourite among the fans, yet it seems frustrations are continuing to mount over his inability to find the back of the net. Nunez certainly seems a difficult striker to play against and can torment sides with his speed and physicality but this season, he has epitomised Liverpool’s woes infront of goal – with Jamie Carragher raising questions over whether Liverpool should offload the £85million forward this summer.
Chelsea newcomer Nicolas Jackson has also been heavily criticised for his indifferent form and he places third behind Nunez having missed 20 chances.
Ollie Watkins, who has enjoyed a fantastic season leading the line for Aston Villa, ranks joint third with Jackson for the most chances missed, despite having scored 19 Premier League goals this season.
Three Liverpool stars rank inside the top ten most wasteful players in the Premier League
Erling Haaland sits joint-top of the Golden Boot race and first for the most attempts missed
Darwin Nunez struggled to put away several attempts at Goodison Park on Wednesday
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose header during the Merseyside Derby helped Everton seal a 2-0 victory, and Newcastle striker Alexander Isak place fourth and fifth in the standings.
Mohamed Salah, who just hasn’t seemed himself since overcoming a muscle injury sustained at the Africa Cup of nations, places seventh for the most big chances missed this season.
While the 31-year-old has had to work back from an injury sustained during the Africa Cup of Nations, he has looked a shade of his former self in front of goal – scoring just twice in the seven Premier League games he has featured in since returning from his injury, having also missed 14 clear chances this season.
Rasmus Hojlund is ranked eighth for the most chances missed this season, having endured a frustrating goal drought upon joining Man United in the summer.
And finally, Liverpool’s Luis Diaz takes the last spot on the list, having missed 12 big chances this season.
The stats are concerning for Liverpool and, while they aren’t the only side this season who have struggled to finish their chances, their inability to find the back of the net will be a big issue that their next manager will have to rectify. Mail Sport understands that Arne Slot could be that man – with the Dutchman set to finalise an agreement to join the club in the next 48 hours.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (left) and Alexander Isak (right) sit fourth and fifth in the rankings
Chelsea’s £32m forward Nicolas Jackson has struggled to impress since arriving in London
Mohamed Salah has also struggled to rekindle his form after recently returning from injury
Liverpool’s Luis Diaz takes the final spot among the players who have missed the most chances
Another problem he may have to deal with, should his potential move be finalised, is Liverpool’s issues conceding goals. While Klopp’s sides have an amazing resilience to come from behind and overturn matches, they have conceded first in 15 league matches this season.
Only in the 2023-24 season have they gone a goal behind opposition teams in the Premier League in more games (16) since Klopp took charge back in 2015.
The German had notably told his players that they did not deserve to beat Luton after earning a surprise 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road back in November, with Diaz scoring a stoppage-time equaliser.
Liverpool showed against Everton that they are capable of getting into dangerous areas. But the Reds are, according to Klopp, rushing their shots.
‘You can see we are in a rush in front of the goal, you can see that,’ Klopp said after the derby.
Prior to their victory against Fulham on Sunday, Liverpool had not scored from open play in six hours – with stats showing that Liverpool’s shot conversion rate, compared to the rest of the season, has dropped off significantly.
‘It’s long ago but I blame a little bit the [Manchester] United game for it,’ Klopp said on their poor finishing, noting that Liverpool had 28 goal attempts during the game, but only got seven of those on target.
‘[Having] that many chances and you play really good but you don’t get anything for it. That’s really bad.
Klopp admitted that his side looked like they were ‘rushing’ when arriving in scoring positions
‘Since then, we create but we don’t score often enough and that doesn’t help.’
But Klopp insists it’s not a mentality problem: ‘It’s always like this: you have to fight through these periods, it was never different.
‘People asked me already about mentality. The mentality has different aspects. It’s not a problem of attitude.
‘The boys want; nobody is doing anything like that on purpose. It’s my job to bring them into a situation that they feel confident to do it.’
