Former Premier League strikers Thierry Henry and Peter Crouch were left wowed by the performance of Liverpool attacker Divock Origi on Wednesday night.
The Belgian international produced a sumptuous display, capped by two terrific goals, in the Reds’ 5-2 victory over their Merseyside rivals Everton. Henry was very impressed.
“It’s one of the most difficult things that you do in the game, is that you need to picture what you want to do when the ball is being played to you,” he said on Amazon Prime about Origi’s fabulous second goal. “Two years ago I think he would have controlled it and tried to rush it. He knew he was alone, he looked, ‘now I can execute’, ‘ball, control, I look, I finish’.
Crouch also weighed in: “Once you get the touch – the touch is perfect – it’s easy then to lash at it then before the defender comes in. He has the presence of mind to take your time, have a breath and then lift it over the goalkeeper.”
Divock Origi = changed man ?@ThierryHenry and @PeterCrouch were full of praise for @LFC's star man after his #LIVEVE performance… pic.twitter.com/zXjb3hS8Hy
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 4, 2019
OPINION
These two – top class Premier League frontmen in their day – are absolutely spot on here. Firstly, though, we have to credit centre back Dejan Lovren for the phenomenal pass he played over the top of the Toffees defence for Origi to bring down beautifully and lift cheekily over Jordan Pickford. The Croatian international gets a ton of stick, and he wasn’t without blame for the goals Liverpool conceded, but he deserves praise for a Virgil van Dijk-esque pass for this goal. But the way Origi took the chance was nothing short of sensational. His first touch to grab the ball out of the sky and instantly bring it under his control was absolutely world class. He cushioned it perfectly and it meant that neither the Everton defenders or Pickford had a chance to get it off him. Then, as Crouch says, he kept his composure to lob the England number one with a perfectly-placed finish. It was a gamble to bring the former Lille man in on Wednesday, but Origi vindicated Jurgen Klopp’s selection with a fantastic performance.