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Liverpool advanced six points ahead of the Premier League table with their win against Crystal Palace, with the positives for Jurgen Klopp even more abundant than the number of goals his team scored.
It had been just over three years since Liverpool last scored three goals in the first half of a Premier League away game, adding another four in the second half to make it a record-breaking margin of victory in the top category.
Such was the standard of the seven goals Liverpool scored, Jordan Henderson’s spike into the corner from outside the box, after good work by Takumi Minamino and Trent Alexander-Arnold in preparation, could be largely overlooked.
But it wasn’t just his goal that was exceptional, with Henderson’s performance from midfield just the latest example of the real quality he possesses off the ball in terms of energy, but also in him with his technical prowess.
Eighty-six percent of Henderson’s 118 attempted passes found their fate against Crystal Palace, while he had only 11 fewer touches than Naby Keita and Gini Wijnaldum combined over the course of the 90 minutes, dominating midfield.
“I have no doubt that Henderson is one of the leading midfielders in the world,” soccer coach Mark Baker said on the post-game podcast following Liverpool’s 7-0 victory at Selhurst Park.
“One of the most underrated aspects of a footballer at that elite level is the ability to keep the team running and the ability to always make the right decision and play slow or speed up when necessary.
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“Henderson’s skill [level at the moment] It is at its highest point.
“He is in the top 1% of players in terms of progressive passing and he has the perfect balance to rotate the ball when necessary, but he also looks for the painful passes. He has always been an outstanding coach of a footballer.
“Look at Thiago Alcántara now at Liverpool and during his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich: he is the epitome of ‘pleasing to the eye’.
“Henderson doesn’t look like that, but in terms of his ability to control a ball and his passing range, he’s an elite footballer.
“He is the driving force behind how the team plays.”
While there were so many good performances by Liverpool players against Crystal Palace that Henderson’s exceptional performance was far from the main conclusion, the Liverpool captain quietly, quite differently from the vocal orchestration he was doing within Selhurst. Park put on one of, if not his best, viewing of the season to date.
Thiago will help Liverpool take control of matches to another level once again when he returns to action, but in Henderson, Klopp already has a midfielder in top condition and in top form who is doing that job quite well on his own. .
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