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So a League Cup career could be fun, huh?
Jurgen Klopp certainly must have had fun as Liverpool came away with comfortable 7-2 victories over Lincoln on Thursday night.
There were all kinds of rotations, but he was still the same as always, the same Liverpool as always: short, sharp and clear passes; pressing intensely from the front; freedom of movement in the final third; opportunities and opportunities and opportunities. And this time there was a series of world-class finals to accompany the team’s prep game.
With only one possible injury, performances that build the confidence of those on the fringes of the first team, and successful debuts for Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas, it was a perfect night for Klopp and company.
Here is our podium.
Gold –Takumi Minamino
Minamino was a delight: flitting between the lines, instigating the game and the press, leaving his mark on everything positive about the game. It was a Minamino performance that we began to look forward to. Starting in the middle, he slipped here, there and everywhere, with a little extra license to drop and collect the ball as Liverpool rotated their positions up (sometimes it was a 4-3-3, sometimes a 4 -2-3-1, sometimes a narrow, 4-2-2-2, sometimes a 4-1-3-1-1).
In fact, Minamino’s average position in the first half was next to Marko Grujic, who was down as the team’s selection midfielder. He was literally split the center halves even though nominally listed as the team’s false nine / number 10, depending on what the team altered in a given possession.
It was Lincoln, that’s understandable. But Minamino is important to bring his preseason form to a real, real and meaningful game. It remains to be seen where Jota will fit into the squad over the course of the season, but Minamino must absolutely be seen as Roberto Firmino’s understudy.
Silver: Xherdan Shaqiri’s free kick
Shaqiri’s night was marred by what feels like the inevitable: He got injured.
Ugh.
We finally got an answer to the key question asked on these pages last week: Where is Xherdan Shaqiri? Apparently he’s been laid back, waiting for the right moment to roll onto the field and get a ball into the top corner when he sees fit.
That’s why Shaqiri is still important: He’s an agent of chaos, overqualified to run with the second team, who can deliver moments of brilliance out of nowhere. In a truncated season where the team’s pace inevitably bogs down at some point, he still has a lot of value, even with a spotty injury history. Keeping it as a staple of the team bench would be smart.
Bronze – Player Ratings
Apologies to Curtis Jones. You deserve this place; he probably deserves the gold.
But let’s talk about Grujic for a moment. Michael Edwards must have been ecstatic watching the goals and performances of Grujic and Shaqiri (if it is for sale), although not so much Divock Origi.
No club will make an assessment based on a Thursday night game in the League Cup. Grujic has been an established player in the Bundesliga; Shaqiri a well-known international. But Thursday offered a reminder of what they look like on a sizzling side where the ball is moving at high speed and everyone knows the plan.
It would be difficult for nobody, including Klopp and Edwards, not looking at Grujic’s passing range, decision making and overall positioning and not concluding that he can find a role at the highest level.
You must do better – Divock Origi
Origi is a club legend, yadda yadda, yadda. It was just Lincoln yadda yadda yadda. But Origi’s acting still wasn’t good enough. Based on his performances throughout 2019/20, but more specifically at the end of the season, where does Origi rank now in the pecking order of Liverpool’s strikers? Sixth? Seventh?
You have Mané, Salah, Firmino, Jota as the obvious four. But would you take it for Minamino right now? Probably. In the base system of the team, where it is difficult for him to find a natural fit, would he consider taking Shaqiri or even Brewster ahead of him? I might.
Origi scored as the game came to a close on Thursday, but that was in stark contrast to much of her night. On a night in which the team dominated possession, they finished with just 1.2 percent ball participation, by far the lowest on the flank. For most of the night, it seemed like he would rather be somewhere else doing something else.
Origi still has something offer, but you need to start offering more.
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