Liverpool’s under-21s may have gone down 5-2 to Blackpool in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, but some of Barry Lewtas’ players still came away from Bloomfield Road with their reputations enhanced.
The young Reds actually opened the scoring against their League One opponents through Paul Glatzel, and it wasn’t just that goal which saw the 22-year-old make a positive impression against the Tangerines.
As per Sofascore, the striker contributed plenty of endeavour for his side out of possession, winning six duels (second-most of any LFC player) and a team-high four tackles, along with making one interception.
He recorded three shots on the night, had one successful dribble and played two key passes as well, proving to be a menace both with the ball and without it.
Theo Squires awarded Glatzel an 8 in his player ratings for the Liverpool Echo, praising a ‘really well-taken goal’ and adding that the striker ‘never stopped running and was always looking to win the ball back and sniff out an opening’.
Although the Germany underage international has never played a competitive first-team game for Liverpool (Transfermarkt), his name will already be familiar to many Reds fans.
He scored eight times in six matches in our FA Youth Cup triumph in 2019 (Transfermarkt) and was involved with Jurgen Klopp’s squad in the subsequent pre-season, only for a serious injury in a friendly against Tranmere to scupper his progress.
The first-team manager has issued glowing praise of Glatzel in the past, hailing him as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘a wonderful player’ (The Mirror).
While the 22-year-old has yet to make the breakthrough at Anfield, something which could be hard to come by given the attacking options at the club, his performance last night might just see him edge into the picture for inclusion in a senior matchday squad for the odd cup game or two later in the campaign.
Having already overcome more than his fair share of adversity with injuries, it’d be fantastic to see him getting a first-team bow at some point in the future.