Jurgen Klopp reserved special praise for Wataru Endo following his goalscoring display against Toulouse, singling the Liverpool midfielder out unprompted.
For good reason, Ryan Gravenberch attracted headlines following the Reds’ 5-1 victory in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The Dutchman produced an excellent all-round display which included the fourth goal, as he continues a promising start since arriving from Bayern Munich.
It was after a question on Gravenberch, during his post-match press conference, that Klopp made sure to give Endo his flowers, too.
“I liked a lot of individual performances, but I would like to mention Wataru Endo,” he told reporters.
“I’m not sure people think that’s spectacular or whatever, but the forward passes he played tonight were absolutely incredible.
“And how often he broke lines with one touch, that was absolutely insane.
“Then he scores a wonderful goal, which helps each player, even a more experienced player. So that’s really cool.
“He would have got a similar hug [to Gravenberch] if I would have brought him off, but he had to play through.”
Endo is certainly deserving of praise for his latest performance, particularly in the context of a stop-start season so far since joining from Stuttgart.
The 30-year-old is not considered first choice in midfield, and has not started in the Premier League since the 2-1 win at Newcastle on August 27.
Instead, his starts have been limited to the Europa League and League Cup as part of Klopp’s second string, requiring him to step in and perform in a new side with little rhythm.
A defensive midfielder by trade, Endo now has a goal and assist to his name in nine appearances for Liverpool – and against Toulouse made the joint-most passes into the final third per FotMob (eight).
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
