The large majority of the Liverpool fan base have grown to cringe whenever Alberto Moreno comes anywhere near the starting line-up, or even the bench.
His transfer to Liverpool from Sevilla for a sizable £12 million showed that we potentially were getting a half decent player for a change under Brendan Rodgers. He had won the Europa League in 2014 with Sevilla which, as we know is their competition, or at least it has been over the last few years.
Start to life in Liverpool was fairly hit and miss for Moreno, with his attacking ability showing off more than his defensive role in the full-back position. We have seen this trait become stapled into his associations above everything else. His highlight came when he ran the length of the pitch to score in front of the Kop end of Anfield against Spurs on just his second Premier League appearance for the club. He also scored the opener against Swansea in the following fixture.
After this relatively exciting start to his career, things started to tail off. Joe Gomez came in and having been the preferred choice, Moreno spent most of his time on the bench or not in the squad at all. This cannot have been easy for the player.
He is often seen as a liability and defensively poor after giving away poor fouls and making a hash of marshalling wingers. It is often thought that when Liverpool have lost in the past, it was Moreno’s fault and whilst that may have been the case on some occasions, he certainly doesn’t deserve the targeted abuse that has been handed out to him 24/7, and not just by opposition fans.
After having his position taken by a midfielder in James Milner, it did not look good for Moreno at all. Yet, he managed to stay at the club and play in cup matches over the 2016/17 season. Many supporters believe that he is only still at the club because of his clearly positive relationship with our star man Philippe Coutinho.
Coinciding with the signing of Andrew Robertson in this year’s summer transfer window, he has been hardly recognisable this season. He has put in many improved performances, having one of his best displays in a Liverpool shirt against Arsenal last weekend. He has started in our Champions league qualifiers in Germany and is starting to turn heads like he should do.
The truth is, he is absolutely rapid and the link up play between him and Sadio Mane is starting to look key in the Reds’ attacking sequences. I think Klopp has noticed that. His defensive mindset seems to have been revitalised and he has the second highest successful tackle rate in the top flight this season so far at 80.5%, along with 11 key tackles. He certainly has picked up his game and I personally do not understand why the fans aren’t giving him a chance.
Having a successful and competitive defensive squad is an exciting prospect and we as a fan base know we aren’t there yet like we are in an attacking sense. But things are certainly looking good under Klopp. Trust in his methods and watch us flourish, as we have seen already this season.
If we play how we have done against Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Hoffenheim and even Bayern Munich in the friendly, we shall be a force to be reckoned with this season. Hopefully we’ll challenge for the league and Alberto Moreno, with his increasingly encouraging performances, will be a key attribute to that success.
Bring on the rest of the season after this awful international break and bring on the Champions League.
Up the Reds!
