Former Liverpool players Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler talk to ESPN FC and laud Liverpool's attacking prowess.
Liverpool legends Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman have been impressed by the Reds' front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, despite the club being 12 points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The trio have accounted for 22 out of Liverpool's 39 goals in all competitions this season, with new signing Salah stealing the headlines with 12 goals and two assists since joining from Roma in the summer.
Following a heavy 4-1 defeat to Tottenham on Oct. 22, the Reds have bounced back with three straight wins. After 3-0 victories over Huddersfield and Maribor, Jurgen Klopp's men continued their scoring spree in a 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday -- with all three games played without the injured Philippe Coutinho.
"I'm quite happy with three good wins and performances," Fowler told ESPN FC. "With the pace of Salah and Mane, we're creating loads of chances.
"At the start of the season, plenty of noise was made on the missed chances and all the pressure mounted by conceding goals. Now we're scoring goals and there's less focus on the defence."
Fowler's ex-Liverpool teammate McManaman believes the club's recent performances are vindication of Klopp's work, with the German having borne the brunt of criticism for their inconsistency this season.
"I was at the West Ham game, they looked really confident and powerful in attack which was great to see," he said.
Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have impressed in recent games.
"The Premier League's now a strange old place where everyone's calling on a manager to lose his job. Klopp is trying to build something that will need time. There'll be hiccups along the way and there certainly has been some, but you also need luck with injuries.
"You've got to remember that [Adam] Lallana, Coutinho and Nathaniel Clyne have been out for certain parts of the season. Those are important players. If everyone stays fit, they will be very difficult to beat."
Fowler and McManaman were speaking to ESPN FC in Singapore as their Liverpool Masters side take on their counterparts from Arsenal and Singapore in the "Battle of the Masters" at the National Stadium on Saturday night.
Despite having been in the Lion City numerous times over the years, McManaman is still relishing his latest visit.
"It's brilliant to be back in Singapore and be reunited with my old teammates," McManaman said. "There's a lot of camaraderie, no matter how old you are. You never lose that friendship and respect with each other.
"Also for the fact that we can meet people who we don't see often. Patrik [Berger] is residing in Czech Republic and Fabio Aurelio has flown all the way from Brazil just to play this game."
Kenneth Tan is a Singapore-based football writer on S.League and AFC Cup for ESPN FC and FourFourTwo. Twitter: @KennerveT
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Source: espn.co.uk