Jordan provides finishing touches

JURGEN KLOPP admitted one of the things he learnt from last season was not to turn Jordan Henderson into a defender.

He didn’t quite word it like that but it was the gist of his meaning when he said he got it wrong pushing two of his best midfielders into a back four to solve an injury crisis.

Not that he wasn’t impressed with the Liverpool skipper’s versatility but more so what the Reds missed in midfield without him there.

So it was fitting that it was on the same turf where the Reds’ defensive injuries woes began, which turned Henderson into a makeshift centreback, where he delivered another superb midfield display. It was at Goodison Park last season when Virgil van Dijk suffered a serious ACL injury after a wild lunge from Jordan Pickford.

When Joe Gomez and Joel Matip joined him in the treatment room, Klopp turned to Fabinho and Henderson, right, to become his central defence.

But when the Reds skipper started in the back four, Liverpool lost five games last season.

Not just because he was playing in an unfamiliar role but because he was missed in his familiar one.

His season ended early against Everton at Anfield in the return fixture later in the campaign while still in the defensive role. But if there were any doubts about how important he is in the middle of the park, this showing back at Goodison proved it.

On the right side of three-man midfield is where he does his best work. Within nine minutes, he got the goal to put the Reds on their way.

But it was the initial pass from the captain that started the move. From the halfway line, he played it out to Sadio Mane before darting forward and turning home Andy Robertson’s cross from the edge of the area.

Not long after he whipped one down the right for Mo Salah to run onto and finish.