John Arne Riise has waxed lyrical about returning defender Nathaniel Clyne for his display in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday.
The Reds managed to secure the bragging rights in this match following a goal from Sadio Mane and a brace from substitute Xherdan Shaqiri, who came on in the 70th minute.
After the game, Riise highlighted the performance of 27-year-old Clyne – who made his first Premier League start at right-back since May – via his personal Twitter account, claiming that he was superb despite his long absence from the starting line-up.
He said: “The one player that really deserves praise today is Nathaniel Clyne. First game after injuries and being out so long. Top class today sir.”
The one player that really deserves praise today is @Nathaniel_Clyne ?? First game after injuries and being out so long. Top class today sir ????????
— John Arne Riise (@JARiiseOfficial) December 16, 2018
OPINION
Nathaniel Clyne only made his first start since May at right-back on Sunday – but what a match to make your comeback in. Clyne has been frozen out for a while but Jurgen Klopp plucked him from the sidelines for this match, and he did not disappoint. For a player who has not been in the senior starting XI for quite a while, Clyne performed rather well on the whole. He has found himself down the pecking order for a place recently, but now that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez are injured, this match was his chance to shine. It was humbling to see him cope so well in this game, especially as he has had to manage a back injury that made him miss the majority of last season. The team has progressed since then, and he found himself out of the picture for a while – but not on Sunday.
