Benteke An Enigma For Klopp And LFC

They say a striker’s job is to score goals.

If that is the case, then there should be no worries over Christian Benteke.

With two goals in his last two games against Leicester City and Sunderland, Benteke has not only found the back of the net but also proved to be the match-winner on both occasions.

However, Benteke could have made both scorelines more comfortable late on with relatively simple finishes (especially the open goal against Leicester – even if it was offside), both easy compared to the two goals he actually scored.

Yet the Belgian couldn’t take either, and they help continue what has been a mixed, inconsistent and frustrating start to his Liverpool career, but with the silver lining of being the current top scorer at the club with seven goals.

As many have pointed out, Benteke seems to struggle more when he has plenty of time to deliberate over a chance, whereas when presented with a more instinctive finish the deadly predator returns – the man Liverpool splashed £32m on in the summer.

However, the biggest issue surrounding Benteke is whether he will ever fit into Liverpool’s style of play. Perhaps in the long-term Jurgen Klopp will adapt the system around the 25 year old but that seems unlikely as it would suit the likes of Daniel Sturridge less.

Currently, Liverpool operate with three ‘number 10’s’ in attacking positions, and therefore all like to play towards the middle of the pitch. Consequently, any width from the Reds is provided by the full-backs, but they cannot remain rooted to the opposition goal all game.

As a result, Benteke doesn’t receive enough aerial service into the box, with only sporadic crosses from the likes of Jordan Henderson and James Milner – and they are sporadic in number, let alone in the quality of the cross.

Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana all prefer to slip passes through to Benteke’s feet, and whilst his hold play is respectable, he will hardly flourish in goal-scoring terms.

Conversely, it’s not all down to the service and set-up from Liverpool to Benteke – he needs to contribute more himself.

Aside from the wayward finishing, Benteke’s movement has to improve. Yes he may not possess electric pace but he has demonstrated short bursts of acceleration that can take him beyond defenders, hence why the attacking trio behind try to feed him with through balls.

However, this has only been seen occasionally, and Benteke needs to make more runs behind and across defences, so Liverpool can go diagonal not just with long, high attempts but along the floor. Sometimes hitting it long to Benteke is too predictable, while attempting a straight ‘eye of the needle’ pass is too ineffective.

With more width from the Reds, and intelligent movement from Benteke, both can get the best from each other.

Finally, Benteke did showcase more desire and work-rate against Sunderland. A good sign, but Benteke has to continue increasing his efforts around the pitch. It may not suit his natural style, but if he wants to be successful in Klopp’s Liverpool side, then he has to show fight and desire, and hopefully it will lead to more chances at goal, fitting in with the ‘gegenpressing’ ideology.

Benteke is still only halfway through his first season, so he still has time to work on his own game and integrate himself into his team-mates alongside him.

Regardless, thanks to his goals, the Reds finished 2015 on a high, and are now just five points behind the top four. Beating Leicester at Anfield was especially a key result as, whilst they may not end up being title contenders, they are without question in the race for the Champions League positions given the season they have had so far.

Manchester United are looking poor but will bounce back; Tottenham are looking good but they are Tottenham – do they possess the mentality to challenge for the title or even finish in the top four?

Competition for these elite places has never been so tough, but Liverpool still have a chance thanks to those back-to-back wins heading into 2016. If Klopp can find a couple of January gems, and Sturridge stays fit for long enough, then Liverpool fans may be able to look forward to a bright new year ahead.

Benteke will play his part – he just needs to keep improving.