A Liverpool youngster beat Steven Gerrard to a record, and his timing may have just given Jürgen Klopp something to think about in fixing his Fabinho problem.
Things are looking a lot brighter at Liverpool than they were at the start of the season. Having gone into the World Cup break on a strong run, everything hinged on how Jürgen Klopp’s side would return from the long hiatus, and a strident 3-1 victory away from home against a resurgent Aston Villa side was the perfect way to start.
The icing on the cake was undoubtedly Liverpool’s last goal. Stefan Bajčetić has been making waves in the Liverpool first team since pre-season in the summer, and he seems to have benefitted tremendously from the World Cup break in Dubai, and the opportunity to work closely alongside Klopp and his coaching staff in the absence of Fabinho.
Having started the League Cup tie against Manchester City, Klopp’s decision to put him on against Aston Villa, with the Reds under pressure and with 11 minutes still to go on the clock, spoke volumes of the Liverpool manager’s belief in the 18-year-old.
Bajčetić of course didn’t disappoint. His goal was coolly taken and demonstrated the composure of a player well beyond his years. It’s a goal that has made him Liverpool’s third youngest goal-scorer in the Premier League. He has beaten the likes of Steven Gerrard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robbie Fowler to that distinction.
Earlier this season, he became Liverpool’s youngest player in the Champions League as well, which means that if at least one thing is guaranteed, it’s that his name will now forever be in the Liverpool history books, not once but twice.
But it’s much more than just the records and that goal against Aston Villa that make Bajčetić the exciting talent that he is. It’s his overall play and his ability to read the game and provide the kind of control in midfield that Liverpool have lacked — traits which Klopp may just have supercharged by his Dubai ‘trick’ of fully integrating the youngster.
He was solid against Lyon and then against AC Milan as well, starting among the first-teamers on both occasions with Fabinho still in Qatar. Even against Manchester City, in a game that saw him substituted at half-time last week, Bajčetić still won four out of his six defensive duels as per Wyscout, a commendable return for a teenager playing for the first time against an opponent of that magnitude. His distribution and overall impact could have been better but he will have learned from that experience and he more than made up with it on Monday night with his short cameo at Villa Park.
His 11 minutes against Aston Villa proved was highly productive. Aside from his goal, Bajčetić made four recoveries, won two out of his three duels and 100 per cent of his tackles attempted, and completed eight of his ten passes.
That’s definitely the kind of impact Klopp will have been looking for from his midfielder in order to solidify the game, and it’s the kind of moment that could prove to be a catalyst.
With less than 200 minutes under his belt for Liverpool in all competitions so far this season, slowly but surely he is edging closer and closer to contention for a place in the regular squad.
And with Liverpool desperate for midfielders and Bajčetić continuing to make a promising impression every time he gets the opportunity to do so, he is already becoming hard to ignore. Sooner or later it will be impossible to overlook him if he continues on the same trajectory.
Liverpool may ideally want to solve finding Fabinho’s back-up in the transfer market with January on the horizon. However, at this rate, they may be better off placing their faith in youth and persisting with Bajčetić instead.
SOURCE: liverpool.com
