Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hopes for change of luck as he targets regular start at Liverpool

Attacker has made his mark while Salah and Mane are away on Afcon duty but securing a long-term place in starting XI could prove problematic

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrates after scoring Liverpool's second goal in their 3-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday, January 23. AFP

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker throws himself in front of a shot from Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta. AFP

Virgil van Dijk celebrates after scoring Liverpool's first. Getty

Virgil van Dijk heads home Liverpool's first goal. PA

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk celebrates scoring their first goal. Reuters

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fires home Liverpool's third. Getty

Fabinho, second left, celebrates after scoring Liverpool's third goal. Getty

Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker saves Odsonne Edouard's back-heeled effort for Crystal Palace. Getty

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. AFP

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrates with teammates after scoring Liverpool's second goal. Getty

Palace' striker Odsonne Edouard celebrates celebrates after scoring. AFP

Liverpool's Diogo Jota goes down under a challenge from Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita and a penalty is awarded after a VAR check. PA

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira. Getty

It was a classic Liverpool goal. For the second consecutive Sunday, a deep cross came in from an overlapping full-back. It was met by the goalscoring winger on the far post, advancing beyond the nominal centre-forward to finish from six yards. The creator of both goals was Andy Robertson. So far, so normal. The different element was that the finisher was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Playing in Mohamed Salah’s position, he scored goals from Salah-esque areas. A diving effort against Brentford was the first headed league goal of his career. His finish against Crystal Palace was, like the majority of Salah’s goals, left-footed.

A question about Liverpool’s January was how they would cope in the absence of Salah and Sadio Mane as each played in the African Cup of Nations. If one answer was provided by the creativity of Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who have six assists in their last three games, perhaps the more unexpected element was Oxlade-Chamberlain’s prowess as Salah’s understudy. A player with one league goal since July 2020 got two in successive games.

It appeared another case of Klopp’s can-do mentality prevailing. Whether with Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi deputising for Salah and Roberto Firmino in 2019 or the rookies Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams anchoring the defence in the run-in last season, his reign is littered with examples of stand-ins standing up to be counted.

Quick as he is, Oxlade-Chamberlain had always seemed more comfortable starting his runs from deep, rather than trying to spring offside traps, and he had rarely excelled in the front three for Liverpool. Until, with Salah and Mane away and Origi injured, it was imperative he did.

But with Salah back by the time the Premier League resumes, Oxlade-Chamberlain may retreat to the margins. Indeed, his form as a forward may have felt bittersweet as Curtis Jones has flourished in the attacking midfield role he must covet. With no Salah-shaped obstacle in his way, the young Liverpudlian may likelier to get a run in the team now.

Liverpool's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during the pro-am ahead of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. Getty

Liverpool players Andrew Robertson and James Milner during the pro-am ahead of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. Getty

Liverpool's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner during the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic pro am at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Andrew Robertson at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. Getty

Liverpool player Andrew Robertson at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Andrew Robertson at the Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Andrew Robertson of Liverpool at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain plays in the pro-am ahead of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. Getty

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain plays in the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic pro am. Getty

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner at the Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Liverpool's James Milner at the Emirates Golf Club on Tuesday. Getty

James Milner during the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic pro-am. Getty

James Milner at the Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Oxlade-Chamberlain is spending his winter break in Dubai. He has much to contemplate. Like Salah, his contract expires in 2023. If each could feel his career is at a crossroads, the similarities may end there. Liverpool’s need to get Salah to re-sign is no secret.

Oxlade-Chamberlain can feel as though he will be overtaken by younger rivals, in Jones and Harvey Elliott. The sense is still that he is yet to recapture the heights he touched before suffering a cruciate ligament injury in the 2018 Champions League semi-final against Roma.

He had been dynamic and destructive, scoring in two Anfield wins against Manchester City. He was in the side ahead of Gini Wijnaldum, on course to start the Champions League final. And then he was out for a year and it became ever more apparent Klopp’s big-game formula was to field the most solid trio available in midfield.

Factor in Naby Keita and it can feel as though four players would prefer a role that doesn’t really exist. Oxlade-Chamberlain has only made four league starts against big-six opponents since 2018.

He nevertheless scored eight goals in a bright 2019-20 but, impeded by injury, had a wasted season last year. Klopp was delighted with his displays before Christmas, including the 4-0 demolition of Arsenal.

“It’s pretty much the best Oxlade since I am here,” he said then, drawing a distinction between 2018’s spectacular strikes and an overall performance level. Likeable but luckless, he can seem the great lost Klopp player, even as he has remained at Anfield. But his auxiliary, impressive part as Salah’s substitute raises the issue if he can transform himself into a regular starter on the major occasions.