Robbie Earle has admitted that he has to hold his hands up and concede that he was wrong about one Liverpool star after watching his performance against Brighton on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men went back to the top of the Premier League table at the weekend. They were given an early shock, with Danny Welbeck producing a thunderous strike to put the visitors in front at Anfield.
But goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah either side of half-time gave Liverpool a hugely valuable three points.
Liverpool were brilliant at times. But they also rode their luck on a few occasions, leaving opportunities for Roberto De Zerbi’s men to counter and threaten.
Pundit admits being wrong about Liverpool summer signing
But it is probably not that surprising that the Liverpool attack were prepared to take those gambles, considering who they had protecting Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal. Of course, Virgil van Dijk has been exceptional this season. And Jarell Quansah has been a revelation.
But Wataru Endo has proved to be a quietly inspired signing for the Reds. Many of us will have known little about the Japan international before his £16.2 million move in the summer.
Endo rarely grabs the headlines. However, he never seems to let Liverpool down when he does feature. No outfield player who started on Sunday boasted a better pass-completion record than Endo, according to Whoscored.
And speaking on The 2 Robbies, Robbie Earle insisted that he has been taken aback by how good Endo has been on Merseyside.
“I’m going to hold my hands up with Endo in midfield, who I wasn’t sure would have the athletic ability to hold that number six role for a Liverpool team that, at times, are going to push people forward, I’ve got to hold my hands up, I’ve been wrong,” he said.
“His football IQ’s much better than I thought. His positional play gets around dangerous areas. He’s not the quickest, and he isn’t the best athlete. But he isn’t half a great footballer, and an intelligent footballer, knows where to be.
“And his kind of control in front of the backline is allowing Mac Allister to go and do the things that we used to see at Brighton, the things where he was freer, where he could go and make and score and assist and probe.
“And all of a sudden, that is absolutely another option that makes Liverpool a massive threat in any game.”
Many of us need to hold hands up over Reds star
Earle is not the only one who has been wrong about Endo. From the outside, his signing seemed to come out of nowhere after Liverpool had been linked with Moises Caicedo. There was also speculation that Liverpool could sign Romeo Lavia.
On current evidence, the Reds have done the best bit of business. Endo needed some time to get going. But he looks extremely comfortable in Klopp’s side.
And, as Earle notes, Mac Allister was superb against his former side yesterday.
With that, Liverpool have put themselves back on pole position in the title race.
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