Liverpool midfielder Emre Can was delighted to return to the starting eleven against Manchester United last night. It was the German international’s first 90 minutes for five months and it showed at times during the game as he took time to settle and on occasion took too many touches on the ball.
The 22 year old is however optimistic that he can now improve on his fitness, confidence and his goal tally if given more game time. He told the Liverpool Echo:
“I need to get my fitness and confidence back. I played last year as the No 6, now I play as the No 8 and can go a bit further forward. My target is to score more goals and give more assists.”
Can had one of the few chances on the night when he wriggled his way past a number of United defenders to unleash a shot off his left foot which David De Gea did well to save.
Whether he gets the game time he needs when both Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum are back to full fitness is not certain. The German was a regular under Jurgen Klopp last season but he has been supplanted in the holding midfield role by captain Jordan Henderson and will likely have to compete for a place further forward in the side.
