- Liverpool analysis – Ben Doak learns harsh lesson as Luis Diaz proves number doubters wrong
Liverpool analysis after Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah score in a 3-1 victory in the Europa League.
“We are here to compete, not to give opportunities,” Jurgen Klopp insisted when speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Europa League opener away at LASK Linz.
Less than 24 hours, 17-year-old Ben Doak was handed his first Reds start – coming in the same week that he had signed a new long-term contract.
But this was no token start for the Scotland Under-21s international, it was an opportunity he has fully deserved.
It is why so many were keen to see Doak start in Austria, even at the expense of the legendary Mohamed Salah.
Forget remember the name, he has long been the club’s worst-kept secret.
And it’s why, despite Klopp’s insistence that the Europa League isn’t for giving out opportunities, the German had no qualms handing the young Scot his first start for the club.
One of 11 changes, it was always going to be tricky for Doak as part of an, at times, disjointed Liverpool side.
But he held his own in his 61-minute appearance as he became the fourth-youngest player to feature for the Reds in Europe.
In truth, his performance both again demonstrated why he is such an exciting talent in the first place, while also reiterating that he remains raw potential.
His total of 30 touches and 11 accurate passes were the fewest of the Liverpool starting XI.
At times, the teenager was isolated on the right as LASK started well.
But no-one attempted or completed more dribbles than the winger as, when on the ball, he played to his strengths.
On more than one occasion he skipped past LASK defenders for fun, only to be left settling for a corner. That final ball is, at times, still lacking, though you’d expect nothing different from a player so young.
The one time he did get his low cross into the box, he was unfortunate that no team-mates were in place at the far post to convert a simple tap-in.
On another night, the 17-year-old registers his first Liverpool assist.
But set for more senior opportunities this season, it was a landmark occasion for Doak that he will build on and a memorable night he will never forget.
The first start of his Liverpool career, rest assured it will not be the last.
Bajcetic back but not at his best
It has been a long six months for Stefan Bajcetic after seeing his breakthrough Liverpool season ended by an untimely adductor injury.
“Played like a man. Unfortunately a kid’s body, that caught him,” Klopp bemoaned when assessing the young Spaniard’s eye-catching campaign.
Still only 18, the Reds were never going to rush the teenager back.
An unused substitute for Liverpool’s last four Premier League outings, Bajcetic was handed his first minutes of the campaign by Spain Under-21s during the international break.
And against LASK, Klopp saw it was the perfect opportunity to re-introduce the teenager himself. But in a new position.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold still sidelined, it was Bajcetic who was turned to as an inverted right-back despite never playing the position before.
On paper, it made sense, such is his ability on the ball, with the decision akin to Pep Guardiola’s own successful utilisation of centre-back John Stones in such a role.
But, unsurprisingly, it was not the smoothest return for the youngster in an unfamiliar position as LASK enjoyed initial success down his flank.
A 43rd minute booking for a lazy foul on Rene Renner signalled his defensive struggles outwide.
Yet on more than one occasion he would unleash Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz with long balls over the top, playing two key passes despite his hybrid role.
Meanwhile, it was his low cross that helped win the penalty that drew Liverpool level as he grew in confidence after the break.
Withdrawn after 61 minutes, it remains to be seen if Bajcetic will be considered as a long-term option as an inverted full-back. After all, he has already been reinvented once, transformed into a holding midfielder in the Academy after being signed as a centre-back from Celta Vigo in December 2020.
He will get better and better with time, of course, but the Reds can manage him carefully, no longer needing to rely on him like they did at times last season.
After all, Alexander-Arnold will be first-choice at right-back when back fit while Klopp now has a new £150m midfield to play with.
While Bajcetic was rightly first-choice for a poor side last year, he has returned to a very different Liverpool.