Liverpool: Jordan Henderson's clever tactic for Mo Salah penalty | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah added yet another Premier League goal to his burgeoning collection on Saturday afternoon.

The Liverpool star is practically nailed on to win a third Golden Boot in England’s top-flight, which would draw him level with Alan Shearer and Harry Kane, as he commands an eight-goal lead over Cristiano Ronaldo.

And while his latest strike at Brighton & Hove Albion wasn’t the type of blood-pumping, spine-tingling effort that Salah so often produces, it was nevertheless vital to Liverpool’s title challenge.

Salah’s critical penalty vs Brighton

That’s because Salah was tasked with doubling the Reds’ lead at the Amex Stadium from the penalty spot after Luis Diaz had broken the deadlock earlier in the game despite being clattered by Robert Sanchez.

While Liverpool’s goalscorer in chief is undoubtedly one of the best penalty takers in the world, the importance of the spot-kick inevitability meant that there was pressure by the tonne loaded on his shoulders.

1 of 20

Let’s start easy: Who are The Hornets?

Burton Albion Brentford Watford Cambridge United

After all, two of the only three penalties that Salah has ever missed for Liverpool have come in the 2021/22 season with Mike Maignan and Kasper Schmeichel having both thwarted him from 12 yards.

So, even a Ballon d’Or contender like Salah would have been forgiven for having a few nervy moments before what eventually proved to be an emphatic strike down the middle that wrapped up the three points.

And the positive end result might well have been assisted by the actions of Jordan Henderson, who showed why he’s such a brilliant leader for Liverpool by protecting Salah before the spot-kick.

Brighton 0-2 Liverpool Match Reaction (Football Terrace)

Henderson’s leadership for Liverpool penalties

, the Reds skipper took on the role of a ‘penalty bodyguard’ that was popularised by Cesar Azpilicueta during the FIFA Club World Cup final.

The 31-year-old could be seen ensuring that Neal Maupay – who is no stranger to winding up opposition players – didn’t even have the chance to get into Salah’s head as he prepared for such a critical penalty.

And Jordet does a fascinating job at highlighting Henderson’s behaviour, complete with video evidence and Manchester United comparisons, across a Twitter thread calling upon his psychological background.

It seems that both Henderson and Liverpool players generally are channelling their team spirit into helping out Salah when he needs it most, so be sure to check out more on the ‘bodyguard’ tactic in the thread down below:

Henderson is exactly the kind of captain that you’d want to play for, isn’t he?

Every little helps

While shooing Maupay away might well have made no difference to how Salah took the penalty, the moral of the story is that Henderson did everything in his power to ensure that the spot-kick went smoothly.

Ultimately, that’s all you can do as a captain sometimes and it’s incredibly earnest because in a world where Salah shovelled his penalty over the bar, Henderson could rest easy knowing that he’d played his part.

And as the Twitter thread shows, United couldn’t say the same thing of themselves when a whole series of mind games by Emiliano Martinez went unpunished in what proved to be a damning miss.

So, if Liverpool need to score an even more crucial penalty to keep themselves in the title race this season, then you can bet that Henderson will have all the answers for any mind games designed to stop it. Kudos, Jordan.