As I sat at home on Sunday night/Monday morning watching Liverpool against Southampton I was optimistic that Jurgen Klopp would get his first win as Liverpool manager. When Christian Benteke put the Reds ahead in the 77th minute it looked very likely Liverpool would walk away with three points, but we all should have known better. Liverpool’s defence have this awful habit of conceding very shortly after they score and that was very much the case yet again. Sadio Mane grabbed a point for Southampton and Klopp had to settle for another draw, although, to apply a positive spin, remains unbeaten.
All Liverpool fans know it will take time. Klopp is one of the best in the business and is able to get even the most mediocre sides playing football that wins matches.
Unfortunately for Klopp he has been left with a squad of players that aren’t his. In an ideal world he would have arrived in the summer, with money to spend on players that have the quality and discipline to fit specifically into his system.
With FSG (Fenway Sports Group) unlikely to spend big in the January transfer window – their last marquee January purchase was Andy Carroll – Klopp will have to wait until the summer to ship out the unwanted, and bring in his targets.
This isn’t to say that every Liverpool squad member isn’t good enough to represent the club, but there is no denying that there are a few players in the squad that are nothing more than dead wood.
One player that I think Klopp will relish having at his disposal, however, is Sunday night’s goal scorer, Christian Benteke.
Many fans were highly critical at first when Liverpool signed the Belgium giant for £32 million, but after showing numerous times that he can perform to the standard Liverpool aspire to, we are slowly but surely seeing the fans change their opinion on him.
With Benteke recently coming back from an injury, it meant he wasn’t fit enough to start for Klopp at home against the Saints. That meant that young Divock Origi lead the line for Liverpool.
There certainly isn’t any denying that the young Belgian has talent, but at the moment he simply doesn’t quite look ready to be a Premier League starter week in and week out. He has a solid work rate but lacks the overall quality to have a real impact.
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Benteke replaced Origi at half time and had an immediate impact. Liverpool were a different side in the second half and Benteke played a major role in that transformation.
Chiefly, he held the ball up so runners could get involved in the play. Being a man of considerable strength, his ability to provide a clear focal point in attack allows Liverpool to get the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino more involved in the play.
It was equally noteworthy that Benteke didn’t always look to come to the ball. Presently, Liverpool severely lack a player that makes those darting runs in behind, stretching opposition defences. Too often we see the players coming towards the ball and making it easier for the opposition to push up and stifle the play. Benteke can do both. Although coming towards the ball is his greater strength, he does have the ability and predisposition to get in behind and cause chaos, which is what Klopp is no doubt eager to see.
Naturally, Benteke is at his most potent when the ball is in the air. He is nearly unstoppable when given accurate, pacy crosses to attack and he proved that yet again against Southampton. James Milner, providing some rare width for Liverpool, got a fantastic cross in, gifting Benteke a chance he couldn’t help but take.
Benteke will be even better for Liverpool under Klopp in the future; there is little doubt that Klopp is looking to bring in some wide players, the kind that will only serve to compliment his striker. Liverpool’s roster is crowded with No. 10s, whose natural instinct is to cut inside to infiltrate the central areas. Expect Klopp to bring in some quality wingers to play to Benteke’s strengths and get that ball in the air.
With Liverpool toothless without Benteke – and, for that matter, the constantly injured Daniel Sturridge – on the pitch, the Belgian’s importance has become even more visible. He offers so much; he’s strong, quick, intelligent and has a good footballing brain.
It will take some time for Benteke, as it will all of the Liverpool players, to adjust to life under Klopp. Simply running farther than the opposition won’t, as Klopp is finding out now, win you games. But, with Liverpool’s striker injury woes withstanding, Benteke has emerged as their most important player, and one whose future at Anfield appears brighter every week.
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