Gini climbs out of his sickbed to give a performance that shocks his skipper and bodes well for title bid
MO SALAH and Virgil van Dijk tend to grab the headlines at Liverpool but unsung midfielder Gini Wijnaldum was their hero yesterday — defying a sore knee and diarrhoea to help get the club’s title challenge back on track.
Wijnaldum, badly missed in Monday’s below-par draw at West Ham when his absence let Mark Noble dominate, was in danger of missing his first Premier League game at Anfield when he felt ill on Friday night and was kept away from his team-mates at the team hotel.
But he was passed fit after a remarkable recovery and capped a man-of-the-match display with his second goal of the season, a delightful onetouch finish that killed off Bournemouth resistance.
‘He was nowhere to be seen on Friday, then he produces a performance like that,’ said skipper James Milner.
Jurgen Klopp was a little more graphic. ‘He had pretty much everything you don’t want to have for two nights before a match. Then he said after a couple of hours’ sleep “I feel good, I can play”. I was only concerned after Gini scored when everybody gave him a hug!’
Klopp picks Wijnaldum more than any other midfielder and yesterday you could see why. His movement, energy and technical skill were the perfect antidote to two disappointing draws that had seen Liverpool wobble.
Bournemouth set up to stifle Liverpool and for the first quarter of the game there was frustration in the Kop, particularly when Wijnaldum played the ball sideways to Naby Keita rather than attempting a killer pass.
But Klopp wanted patience and control in Liverpool’s build-up play, and he was right.
After 24 minutes came the breakthrough when Sadio Mane headed them in front, though Bournemouth justifiably complained of offside.
From there, Wijnaldum’s consistent break-up play coupled with clever runs behind the Bournemouth defenders were cheered to the rafters.
His personal reward came after 34 minutes when Andy Robertson spotted him just inside the right angle of the penalty area. On receiving a pass, Wijnaldum had the awareness to see goalkeeper Artur Boruc coming out and dinked the ball over his head into the top corner before breaking out into a beaming smile.
It was such a composed finish you can imagine Klopp demanding more goals from him now and at 2-0 Liverpool were home and dry.
Salah is the darling of Anfield and the fans sing his name but Wijnaldum is their Fernandinho, irreplaceable.
The ovation he received when he was replaced 14 minutes from the end was fit for a hero.
If he can stay fit, and healthy, for the remainder of the season it could be a very special season on Merseyside.