A possible landmark performance from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain helped Liverpool ease past Genk in their first away Champions League group victory in over two years.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
A brace from Oxlade-Chamberlain as well as goals from Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah pushed Liverpool towards a 4-1 victory in Belgium.
Liverpool started-off quickly with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first of the night; a 25-yard driver that nestled into the bottom corner of Coucke’s net before he added another in the second half with a sumptuous flick into the top corner.
A delicious move from Liverpool’s front three saw Mane add a third before a bit of egyptian magic from Salah ended the scoring for the Red’s.
Liverpool did concede late on from Stephen Odey but the main talking point of tonight has to be the performance of Oxlade-Chamberlain.
After a treachered 18 months of injury Oxlade-Chamberlain showed glimpses of brilliance against Manchester United on Sunday but tonight he may just have reignited into the player that dominated Manchester CIty in the Champions League two seasons ago.
A powerhouse in the midfield as well as a creative catalyst going forward Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance oozed class from the first whistle.
Aside from his two goals, Oxlade-Chamberlain completed 89% of his passes whilst creating a clear cut chance; he also completed 100% of his take-on attempts.
However, as always Jurgen Klopp strives for perfection and suggested that there were elements of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance that could have been improved upon.
He told BT Sport:
“It was a great moment for Ox. His performance was exactly the same performance as the team.
“The goals were great but the rest could have been better, but no problem.”
Klopp added:
“The goals were sensational though.”
Despite Klopp’s comments the Genk defence could not get near Oxlade-Chamberlain and by consistently getting in between the lines he created a strong link between our midfield and attack.
Liverpool’s midfield was a world away from the staleness that was on show for the majority of the game at Old Trafford on Sunday, it was dynamic and creative whilst remaining relatively solid throughout.
This leaves Jurgen Klopp with food for thought ahead of another massive game against Spurs on Sunday. Does he stick with his usual trio of Henderson, Fabinho and Wijnaldum? or has Oxlade-Chamberlain done enough to push his way into the starting XI?
For a while Liverpool fans have been begging for an alteration in the midfield to add a more creative edge to their attack and it is possible that Oxlade-Chamberlain will be the man to do that on Sunday.
However, another player that had a solid performance but will not take the headlines is the enigma that is Naby Keita.
Keita yet again hinted at why Klopp forked out over £50 million with a forward thinking performance against Genk.
The Guinean midfielder completed more passes (108), more dribbles (¾), more tackles (4/4) and won the ball back more (12) than any other player on the pitch.
It was an all-round good performance from Keita and the most notable stat is that he made more passes into the opposition box than anyone else.
As mentioned in the review of the Manchester United game on Sunday, Liverpool have lacked a creative engine with an eye for pass since the departure of Phillipe Coutinho but in Naby Keita we have a player that could fill that role.
His performance tonight will have given him great confidence as well as reminding Liverpool fans what he is all about.
However, he must stay consistent and injury-free as the stop-start nature of his first 12 months on Merseyside has hindered his Liverpool career.
Thus, ahead of Sunday’s clash with Spurs it is likely that if any changes were to be made to Klopp’s midfield, Oxlade-Chamberlain would be the more likely to step in to add the drive and tenacity that will be required against Tottenham.
Naby Keita needs more minutes and a run of a few weeks without injury before he can be thrown into a game like Sunday’s.
Then again with Klopp you can never be too sure, he may start one or the other or possibly neither but one thing is for sure and it is that tonight’s match will give Klopp the luxurious problem of having too many options.
Overall, It was a strong showing from Liverpool and a good way to bounce back from disappointing result against Manchester United.
Klopp will be pleased with a number of standout performers and will be glad his front three were fit and firing once again.
However, the most important thing is that Liverpool collected the three points and that we are back on track for number seven.
Brandon Russell
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