Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was fairly harsh in his response to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s wonderful brace v Genk.
The Reds downed the Belgians 4-1 away from home, with Ox’s second goal one of the best he’ll score in his career.
Overall, the midfielder grew into the game and was a real creative influence in the second-half especially – but Klopp expects more of the 26-year-old.
“It was absolutely a great moment for him, but I would say with Ox his performance was exactly the same as the performance of the team – the goals were great but all the rest could have been better,” he told the Echo.
“That’s how it is, but it’s no problem.
“The goals were sensational and very important for us. Wonderful.
“On Sunday, Adam scored the goal, and now Ox has scored two goals. It’s really nice. Absolutely great, a great story.”
There was a small passage in the first-half when Genk threatened on the break – and their goal was avoidable and against the run of play – but we’re actually pretty pleased with what we saw.
On Sunday v Manchester United, our midfield was static and didn’t burst forward at all – but in the Champions League, Ox and Naby Keita showed more urgency and creativity in the final third.
Klopp will now decide whether to stick with the midfield trident of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum for the Spurs game on Sunday – or if he should stick in one of Ox or Keita.
We’d suggest, following these comments, that he might go with Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Keita – but there’s countless possibilities.