Bradley and Frimpong: Who's Giving Mo The Ball?

Much is changing within the Liverpool team. Mohamed Salah's relationship with the right-back has always been one of the most important connections.

“It's going to be a question I'm going to ask a lot this season. Who's giving Mo the ball?”

Dan Kennett, Distance Covered Podcast

The Distance Covered podcast is really good, even the episodes which feature guests other than me. Hard to believe, I know. There will always be several insightful, thought-provoking points made on Liverpool issues you may not have considered.

Josh Williams discussed the Reds’ 4-2 win over Bournemouth with Dan Kennett in the most recent episode. The latter commented on new right-back Jeremie Frimpong having little on-pitch relationship with Mohamed Salah.

“The only player who was giving the ball to Salah [against Bournemouth] was [Dominik] Szoboszlai,” Dan said. “I think he had 11 pass combinations to Salah (he did). [Florian] Wirtz only had five. And [Hugo] Ekitike, I think, had two (it was one). And Frimpong had two.”

The final pass from right-back to right-forward occurred with just 4:22 on the clock. While it enabled Salah to create the first big chance of the league campaign, for Virgil van Dijk, Frimpong’s pass didn’t help him (as you can see here).

It means the duo played for approximately 55 minutes prior to the former Leverkusen man’s substitution without him passing to Salah. Three of the four passes from the Egyptian to the Reds’ summer acquisition went backwards too.

They’re not screaming ‘lethal attacking combination’ yet. Frimpong’s injury means they won’t become one in the immediate future either.

The pairing linked up more often at Wembley, with a six-four pass count in Salah’s favour across the 10 they exchanged during the Community Shield. Is that enough? Perhaps the fact Frimpong only made 19 passes against Bournemouth is the more telling issue, rather than how many of them reached the man stationed in front of him. It’s a very low tally for a Liverpool defender.

Comparing Frimpong’s data with anything Trent Alexander-Arnold achieved with Salah is pointless. Not only has he left (did you notice?) but the Reds’ tactical plan for his position has changed.

A look at Conor Bradley’s relationship with Liverpool’s number 11 is far more worthwhile. As noted in the summer, Frimpong’s data was very similar to Bradley’s when he played at right-back rather than wing-back in the Bundesliga.

The Northern Irishman doesn’t have a wealth of playing experience with Salah. They have shared the pitch for 1,568 minutes in all competitions, a shade over 1,000 in the Premier League. It remains enough for us to have several clips of interest to review.

Bradley’s first start alongside his most illustrious colleague occurred in a Europa League tie against Sparta Prague. They linked up for the two passes prior to a goal for Szoboszlai. The ball went from Bradley on the inside to Salah on the flank, then back in to the scorer.

The right-back being infield of the winger occurs frequently. In this next clip, the duo combine for Salah to create an Opta-defined big chance for Cody Gakpo. Calling this a ‘player should score’ opportunity feels a stretch, but arguing over that is not why we’re here.

This next chance feels worthier of meeting that criterion, which Opta felt it did. Remarkably, it occurred with Bradley’s first touch after coming off the bench to play with Salah for the first time ever.

The above was against West Ham in the Carabao Cup in 2023/24. Liverpool thumped the same opponents in the same competition at Anfield last season too. Salah scored, with Bradley involved in the build-up to his goal.

Having received a pass from the forward in the penalty box, the youngster created a big chance for Alexis Mac Allister. His shot was saved, with Salah the grateful recipient of the rebound.

The duo played the full 90 minutes together at Southampton two months later. The less said about this Bradley shot, the better - 73-year-old Alex McCarthy was able to go down in stages to save it - but it’s another example of the link up with Salah.

A significant chunk of their playing time together in the league occurred towards the end of the campaign. Once it was clear Alexander-Arnold was off, Bradley had to play. He and Salah linked up in the move leading to the latter striking the woodwork at Leicester. Sadly none of the available footage shows their triangle of passing, so you’ll have to settle for this.

A further big chance-generating move occurred later in the same match, with a degree of similarity to the Mac Allister effort against West Ham. Bradley first passed to Salah, then received the ball in the box (though this time from Ryan Gravenberch who had pulled out wide) before delivering a cutback.

The duos’ most recent shared appearance lasting more than half a match occurred at Brighton in the penultimate game of 2024/25. Salah played in Bradley to assist Harvey Elliott early on:

Before Bradley set up Salah for a big chance later in the match:

That’s an unusual example compared with those that went before as the interplay occurred within the penalty area. There is a clear need for Frimpong to help form triangles with Salah, even if the former’s instincts mean he goes wide. Liverpool fans won’t be disappointed if that forces the Egyptian King closer to goal.

In their shared Premier League time, Bradley has averaged 10.4 passes per 90 minutes to Salah. There has been a near-even split between the ball going inside or outside of him, whereas 73 per cent of the passes from the veteran to the right-back went inside. Bradley leads the pair 12-5 for passes received in the box, which you might not expect too.

More notably, he averages almost three times as many passes to Salah than Frimpong has so far. Early days or not, it’s clear the new boy needs to be ‘giving Mo the ball’ more often.