da casino： Jurgen Klopp has been speaking about his latest signing Takumi Minamino following the 1-0 win over Everton, and the former Borussia Dortmund coach definitely seems to be impressed with what he saw.
da leao： The 22-cap Japan international was making his first appearance for the European champions since signing from RB Salzburg in a deal worth £7.25m, and he did well in a ‘false nine’ role that we usually see Roberto Firmino operate in.
Minamino played in between Divock Origi and Harvey Elliott, where he took one shot on goal and recorded one dribble, while also completing 86.4% of his passes – the Liverpool boss spoke glowingly of the 24-year-old after full-time.
What did he say?
Klopp said: “Super, outstanding. Exactly the player we wanted, exactly the player we wished for.
“Your first game in a team you don’t know, if it’s a settled team it’s already difficult – this team we threw more or less on the pitch with two sessions together. And then showing this kind of game understanding, football skills are exceptional, attitude is outstanding, led the chasing pack so often in different situations, which I loved.
“He didn’t look tired, but because we don’t know him that long we just wanted to save him a little bit, so took him off.”
Clever usage of Minamino
Having just arrived at Anfield following a summer in which Liverpool arguably made no glitzy signings, with only Adrian, Andy Lonergan, Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg joining, the spotlight was on Minamino – even more so after he scored against the Reds in the Champions League group stage.
With that in mind, Klopp’s decision to hand the 24-year-old his debut in a game where other untested players such as Neco Williams, Curtis Jones, Pedro Chirivella and Nathaniel Phillips also featured was a very clever move from the German.
It immediately took the pressure off Minamino, as Liverpool went from favourites to underdogs based purely on Klopp’s team selection – especially as Everton fielded a full-strength side – while it also helped him look at home in an XI who, as the German said, was thrown onto the field after roughly two sessions together.
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Deploying so many youngsters also helped to take the spotlight off the Japanese star as not all eyes were on Minamino, but instead spread across the XI as many fresh faces had a point to prove, while his withdrawal in the 70th minute ensured he didn’t become tired and sloppy – Klopp was very smart with his use of the Liverpool No.18.
In other news, these Liverpool fans were all thinking the same thing after Minamino’s debut…