Liverpool's season is marked by urgency. The one created when Virgil van Dijk got injured. Increased when Joe Gómez accompanied him on his long walk through the infirmary. And turned into a loud alarm when Klopp confirmed that Matip was also in danger of never wearing shorts again this season. Three centrals. Three injuries. A site: the center of defense.
Fabinho and Henderson proved to be good patches, but the solution, in addition to the physical mishaps that have also accompanied the former, became a problem when looking at a midfield who was losing the muscle that the couple provides. Thus, Over the winter horn, Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak arrived. Two signings that, together with a still-fledgling Rhys Williams, brought packaging to the center of the rear. ANDHe first came as a surprise, since he came from the Championship, but he inherited the problems of his now companions, as he was injured days ago. The second was an old Liverpool wish. At first it was expected that the young Turk (he is 20 years old) would continue, at least, until summer at Schalke 04. But the situation overflowed the operation and became not only a future signing, but also a present need. A month later, in his first Champions League game, the fans have crowned him the 'Man of the Match' (best player of the match) of the clash against Leipzig (0-2).
A Man of the match statistical
Salah and Mané took advantage of the mistakes of Mukiele and Upamecano to score the match, but keeping a clean sheet, given the problems in recent games, seemed essential. And there, Kabak passed the exam with flying colors. Accompanied by Henderson, more focused on getting the ball out, Ozan won 7 of the 9 duels (77.8%) with the rival he had to face (only Mané, nightmare of the rival rear) presented better total numbers (14) , not percentage (73.7%). In addition, the Turk was the player with the most successful tackles of the team (4), without forgetting the security shown when dealing with the ball (43 successful passes out of 51, a 84.3%).
If in his first opportunity to defend his new shield, against Leicester, he did not have a lucky performance (they lost 3-1 with Allison and the defense as major culprits), he has compensated in a night marked in blood red in the calendar net. SofaScore, statistical portal, He scored a 5.8 against the foxes, but the doubts of the debut have been buried and his 7.5 against the Germans placed him ahead of his teammate behind (Henderson was rated a 7.) A numerical compendium that convinced the fans to show them that their presentation is forgotten.
At 20, he has a world ahead. It is by no means a finished product, as it must polish many must, as a relative weakness when going to the crash. For this, he will have a good teacher as soon as Van Dijk recovers. In the meantime, he will have to act as a patch for Klopp and Liverpool. Although performances like the one given on his first big night show that his journey is long. Now, In this crash course you've been affiliated with, you must bury the temporary patch tag to become a lasting reality.