- Jurgen Klopp rightly directs praises towards Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
- Midfielder has been involved in Liverpool’s last two winning goals
- £40m signing beginning to look at home after tough start to life at Anfield
- SEE MORE: Van Dijk’s reaction to his Merseyside derby winner is glorious…
Jurgen Klopp has refused to let Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s vital contributions in the past two weeks go overlooked.
The Liverpool boss has rightly praised the midfielder for his role in the club’s late winning goals against Burnley and Everton.
It was Oxlade-Chamberlain’s precise and well-struck corner that set Virgil van Dijk up for his debut goal in Friday night’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Everton.
This followed a dramatic end to Liverpool’s recent trip to Turf Moor, in which the £40million signing’s teasing free-kick found the head of Dejan Lovren, who saw his effort turned in by Ragnar Klavan to earn victory for the Reds.
Whilst discussing Van Dijk’s dream debut, Klopp couldn’t ignore the importance of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s recent performances.
“He (Van Dijk) showed a lot of things we want him to show in the future very often tonight; heading of course, football-wise his first touch was good, good under pressure and then around set-pieces a proper threat,” he told Liverpoolfc.com.
“Cool, but you cannot score a header off a set-piece if nobody is doing the cross and Oxlade-Chamberlain for a second time in a row made a goal from this – at Burnley it was a free-kick and now it was a corner, so that’s very important for us.”
After seeing his stuttering progress at Arsenal somewhat hinder his start to life at Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain has since transformed under the guidance of Klopp to establish himself as a valuable option.
A winter of regular team rotation has granted the 24-year-old increased opportunities to gain some momentum and take meaningful strides towards rediscovering his top form.
The ability that his versatility gives him to feature centrally or in wider areas has seen him thrive in Liverpool’s interchanging approach.
Whether it be serving as his team’s link man in midfield or launching bursting counterattacks himself, Oxlade-Chamberlain is beginning to fulfil expectations that he would flourish in Klopp’s setup.
Not only is he offering the desired work ethic and explosiveness, but he is beginning to rack up the statistics to prove his progression.