Liverpool, without a doubt, have been blessed as a club with some of the greatest goalscorers in English history.
Mohamed Salah reigns supreme in the modern day for the Reds, who have in history also been adorned with supreme-finishing talents such as Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush.
Goalscoring, in its purest form, is an intense skill to possess. You can succeed as a striker even without being the most clinical of forwards, with metrics and skills such as movement, IQ, quality of support, pace, strength and physicality all playing a part arguably bigger than the shooting itself.
But, of course, you can possess all of those things mentioned, but be let down by the shot you possess, for a number of reasons. Composure may be lost from a rush of blood to the head when ball meets foot. The effort can sail agonisingly over, straight at the goalkeeper, or wide of the target after doing all the hard stuff well.
So, in that metric, finishing is an art form in its own right. Liverpool have been blessed with many a top scorer over the years, but who are the best pure finishers in their club’s history?
This article is not just about goalscoring numbers, it is about precision, the types of shot the players had in their locker and, for the more modern entrants, their shot-to-goal conversion rates.
Known in his post-playing days as an entertaining (if divisive) pundit, Daniel Sturridge’s true potential was marred by a host of luckless injuries. And as such, with the seemingly never-ending injury list, it may be simple to forget the ability he had within him in front of goal.
Jurgen Klopp certainly didn’t. “He is one of the best finishers I have ever seen. He scores goals you think should not be possible,” is what the German manager said when confirming the striker’s departure back in 2019.
In his 67 strikes from 160 showings, Sturridge had a finish for every scenario. Leading from a spectacular curler against Chelsea from range, down to a sublimely deft chip against West Bromwich Albion, and you’d also favour him every time the ball landed to his feet in the area. Had it not been for injuries, the goalscoring (and the famous celebrations) would have been much more frequent an affair for Sturridge.
Surprised to see Liverpool’s ever-present clutch god here on this list? Well, the proof lies within Divock Origi’s stats for the club. Since 2006/07, no Liverpool player has given a higher shot-to-goal conversion rate for the club. Origi, in the Premier League alone, made 107 appearances and took 106 shots precisely.
Of these 106 Premier League shots, 22 ended up in the back of the net, giving him a conversion rate of 20.8%. Though he may not have the goal metrics to match some of the more legendary players ahead of him in this list, that particular stat – coupled with his multiple famous big goals – earns him a spot in the early portions of the list, scoring from just over a fifth of every Premier League shot he took with the Anfield outfit.
As the left-most operator in Liverpool’s legendary front three of Sadio Mane, Bobby Firmino and Salah, Mane has a stake for being one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever African players. The superstar was enigmatic and prolific, and when referring to that earlier stat that subsidised Origi’s position on the list, is Liverpool’s third most clinical forward since 06/07, finding the net in the Premier League from 18.6% of his 483 shots (90 goals).
So, when referring to his position in the list, Mane gets the nod over the Belgian due to his goal tally, scoring 68 more top-flight goals than Origi in 89 more matches, as well as holding a slightly superior goals-to-game tally, netting just over every two matches compared to Origi’s one-per-five.
With Diogo Jota being claimed by Jamie Carragher as the best finisher in the Liverpool squad, the former Reds defender sparked a debate regarding Liverpool’s greatest goal-getter. He personally claimed Jota to be higher than some of his incredible teammates, fancying Jota’s ability in front of goal over the likes of Luis Suarez.
The data backs Jota up. To go back to the goal conversion metrics (last time, we promise), Jota is Liverpool’s second-most clinical finisher since 06/07, behind Origi and ahead of Mane. Injury issues have stopped Jota from showing his absolute top talent regularly in a Liverpool shirt, but his abundance of scoring styles and prolific nature see him hit the net with consistency when available
No surprise at all to see Salah make his way onto the list, but perhaps a little surprising to see him listed in seventh position. Despite his phenomenal goal record, staking his claim as to being one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever players, Mo Salah’s mouth-watering numbers may not directly come straight from his clinical nature.
The Egyptian legend has had more shots in his Premier League career with Liverpool than any player since 2002, hitting the net 151 times from a whopping 868 shots – which is only 244 attempts less than the aforementioned Mane, Jota, Origi and Sturridge combined (that 244 difference is also more shots than Jota and Origi have taken/took for Liverpool as individuals, too) – owing his goals to his ferocious shot volume.
This is not a slight on Salah at all, of course. His eye-watering shot volume is testament to his confidence, speed and IQ as one of the Red’s greatest to ever do it.
We are stepping a long way back into the history books with this one, and as such very little specific statistical data exists for Gordon Hodgson (when referring to shot conversion etc).
However, the prolific forward of yesteryear, Liverpool’s third-highest-ever goalscorer, does have one bit of data to fight his cause, that being a phenomenal goal record.
Ranking Liverpool’s Best Ever Premier League Sides Based on PPG
Of every Liverpool player to have played over 100 games for the club, no player has tallied a better goals-to-game ratio, finding the net 241 times from 378 times in a glittering 11-year spell, giving him a goal every 1.56 matches.
One of the greatest strikers of his generation, and a recurring nightmare for Norwich City supporters, “El Pistolero” was a goalscorer of every single variety in his time at Anfield.
The controversial Uruguayan found the net from wherever he liked. A dipping volley from near the halfway line, scorching drives from the edge of the box, silky-smooth roundings of poor old goalkeepers and simple, good old-fashioned sharp strikes from within the box were all on the menu for Suarez, who tore defences up in a sick weekly routine in his three years with the club.
A generational talent, and one of the most frightening forwards the Premier League ever did see.
In all honesty, finding a hair to split between Fernando Torres and his replacement in Suarez was exhaustingly difficult. For Liverpool, Torres played one more year than Suarez and scored one less goal, which initially put him lower down.
However, revision saw that, in the Premier League, Torres played fewer games for the Reds than his Uruguayan successor, and took almost 200 fewer shots, leaving him as the very slightly more clinical striker, statistically.
However, pick whichever you like. Torres was a frightening prospect in the Premier League at Anfield, and a striker who it is certain one Nemanja Vidic will never forget. He had a goal for every occasion and marked his excellent touch and IQ with lethal ball-striking.
The last Englishman to date to win the coveted Balon d’Or, those who now know Michael Owen for mainly stating the obvious when embarking into punditry may miss out on what a ridiculous player he was.
Another fearsome striker in Liverpool’s ranks through the years, the English striker was a phenom of pace, and a terrifying cocktail of athleticism, ball control and clinical striking.
Known for his poacher’s efforts as his injuries began to grind him down, Owen’s incredible footballing talent was matched by a smart eye for a finish, seeing him net 118 times in the Premier League in 216 Liverpool games.
One of two players in this list to have served the club on two occasions, Liverpool’s all-time top scorer was always due a high spot in the rankings.
The Welshman’s longevity and ability in front of goal was a sight to behold for many years, finding the net a grand total of 346 times in 660 matches – a goal coming his way just under every two games, for 14 total years.
Known for his love of receiving a through ball, Ian Rush got to the top of the Anfield scoring mountain with a wide range of strikes from every angle, with his poacher instincts stretching far, far into his later career.
There’s a good reason they called him “God”. No other nickname was fitting for a striker as prolific as Robbie Fowler. No matter where he received the ball in and around the area, defenders and goalkeepers alike had to stay on their toes, because Fowler truly had a strike in him for every occasion possible.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Fowler took just 4 minutes and 33 seconds to score a hat-trick vs Arsenal when he was 19. At the time this was the quickest hat-trick in Premier League history, only later beaten by Mane (2 minutes 56 seconds for Southampton vs Aston Villa).
He isn’t number one here just for the sake of his volume of goals (183 for Liverpool in total). It was the vast variety and outlandish nature of the strikes themselves. He had a deep-ingrained knowledge of when to curl one, when to hit it with pure power, and when to take it on earlier than presumed to catch a keeper out.
The majority of Fowler’s finishes were textbook. Otherwise, they were outrageously well-improvised. In the first several years after getting into the team as a teenager, just before injury blighted him of some of his sharpness and self-backing, every time the ball landed at his feet within 25 yards of the goal, you could expect the net to ripple.
