Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has surprisingly heaping praise on midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri after his first half performance against Southampton on Saturday.
The Switzerland international forced an own goal from Wesley Hoedt to open the scoring and then crashed a sumptuous free kick onto the bar, with Mohamed Salah converting the rebound to complete the 3-0 scoreline.
Klopp substituted Shaqiri at half-time and replaced him with James Milner in a clear indication he was not happy but the manager’s public stance was that he was thrilled with the Swiss.
“It’s just good to have Shaq,” Klopp told the Liverpool Echo. “You saw the free kick, it was outstanding. What a ball!
“The whole team was not used to the system today and as a new player usually you struggle most, but he didn’t. He tried everything, the only problem was defensive. Offensively, it was a good idea, but we have to work a bit more on that. He was good, I liked it,” he finished.
OPINION
It was certainly a full debut to remember for the former Stoke City man, however it’s somewhat surprising to see Klopp come out and praise a player he substituted at half time. Maybe it was just a tactical switch at the break, but if Shaqiri was playing so well why did the German bring him off? It speaks to the strength in depth of Liverpool’s squad, though, that a player like Shaqiri can come in cold from the bench and produce a performance of such quality – even if it was only for 45 minutes. At 5’5″ [Transfermarkt] the 26-year-old has to rely on his technique, and he did that perfectly at Anfield on Saturday. The free kick that hit the bar was a phenomenal effort and really deserved to go in, but fortunately Salah was on hand to turn in the rebound. Players like Shaqiri and Joel Matip, both of whom came into the side on Saturday and performed brilliantly, are going to be so vital for Liverpool this year as they compete for trophies on multiple fronts. Shaqiri certainly strengthened his claim for more first team football, and with a coterie of talents at his disposal, Klopp now has a decision to make.
