How did Wataru Endo perform vs LASK?
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Having produced a similar result of first-half misfortune against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League last week, Klopp fielded a much-changed XI in Linz, and it’s perhaps understandable that an unfamiliar crop took a little time to click into gear.
Regardless, reporter Neil Jones lamented the English outfit’s “sloppiness” and while Nunez and Luis Diaz’s swift double turned the tide, with substitute Mohamed Salah scoring late on (of course he did), the club’s German manager will rue the failure to take control in the early stages once again.
This was largely made worse by the midfield’s failure to put together calm and coordinated plays, with £16 million summer recruit Wataru Endo failing to deliver a strong performance despite brief periods of tenacious defence.
The Japan captain wasn’t particularly bad, but he missed some opportunities to impress and fumbled some easy passes. He also only won one ground duel all night, dribbled past once, and made one tackle.
The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle perhaps put it best in his post-match player ratings, stating: “Appeared half-a-yard short in the opening exchanges and too often gave the ball away. A difficult night.”
That said, he wasn’t the only underperformer on Thursday evening.
How was Kostas Tsimikas vs LASK?
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While Endo’s overall quality was at times laid awkwardly bare, it was left-back Kostas Tsimikas who endured the most substandard of showings for Klopp’s side, with Paul Gorst remarking that he didn’t have his “finest hour” down the left channel.
The Greek ace has played second fiddle to Andy Robertson ever since joining from Olympiakos for around £12m in 2020, and while he is a creative player with a wand of a left foot, producing 12 assists from just 63 appearances, he would be fortunate to have avoided a scolding.
Indeed, the 27-year-old did play the full 90 minutes, making three interceptions and one tackle, but failed to contribute with a single key pass and actually succeeded with only four of his 14 ranged passes, conjuring up nothing of note.
There was one moment, late into the first half, when Liverpool had defended a set piece and were presented with a glorious chance to counter.
Fortunately, the defender caught the ball and charged forward with the opportunity to find either Darwin Nunez or Ben Doak, two equally potent strikers, but instead he was unsure of his next move and became tangled up in the middle of the field, losing possession.
He actually lost the ball 25 times, which is an astoundingly high figure and extremely concerning.
Even though this may be a bit harsh, it’s fair to say that Tsimikas did not have a game to remember during the 86-touch snoozer, according to one LFC podcaster.
Also failing to make a single successful dribble, it was a pretty dire showing from the £50k-per-week left-back, who has done little to convince Klopp of his worth and will count his lucky stars that Liverpool’s incisive attack salvaged three points to kick off the European journey.