Jordan Henderson was the best player on the pitch last night.
He orchestrated us to a 2-0 victory over FC Porto, which included a beautiful pass to Trent Alexander-Arnold in the buildup to Roberto Firmino’s first-half tap-in.
Jurgen Klopp used Hendo in an advanced midfield role, ahead of Fabinho at no.6 – following the skipper’s tremendous half an hour cameo in a similar position v Southampton last Friday.
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(Video) Henderson’s box-to-box cameo v Southampton shows he can start there ahead of Fabinho
Henderson’s performance has left many fans asking why the Englishman has been used as a holding midfielder for so long when it doesn’t suit his attributes – and Klopp addressed the issue with the media.
“Hendo is a brilliant player,” Klopp told the Mirror post-match.
“I’m really happy that he can show that again.
“He obviously likes the new position. We’ve not used him there for one and a half years.
“Sorry about that!
“But we needed him there. A really good performance with brilliant passes.”
Klopp started used Henderson in a deeper position a few years back, as we didn’t have an option there and he seemed to be capable of fulfilling it.
But it’s actually probably held the captain back, considering how little it maximises his strengths.
Henderson’s great when he’s playing at full intensity, is crashing into tackles, passing quickly and getting into the box – as his energy is basically unrivalled.
From now until the end of the season, we now have a revitalised Henderson, a confident Naby Keita, Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner and Adam Lallana as options for the two spots in midfield either side of the anchorman.