Brendan’s a Christian preacher
ONLY 90 minutes into the new season, Brendan Rodgers was burying himself in hyperbole. ‘With Christian Benteke up front, you saw his quality,’ said the Liverpool manager. ‘ You saw his movement, his strength, his power and that ability in the air. He was outstanding.’
Rodgers was understandably rather pleased as he reflected on yesterday’s win at Stoke.
The last time he was here, only 77 days ago, he could have been forgiven for wondering if he would ever get the chance to come back.
A 6-1 defeat sent him hurtling towards a summer of introspection and rebuilding, so to leave with a victory this time around was all he could have wished for.
The truth, however, is that the new Liverpool would appear to be a work in progress at best. What is abundantly clear already is that the ability of their new centre forward to settle and thrive will be fundamental to their chances of achieving the progress demanded by owners FSG.
Liverpool have invested heavily in Benteke (right). By spending £32.5million to bring him in from Aston Villa, Rodgers has accepted there is more than one way to play football.
Speaking just last week, the Belgian stressed that he would prove himself more than a target man and Liverpool already knew how best to use him.
This being the case, what we saw here at the Britannia Stadium was rather modest. It is early days, of course; all new players need time to form relationships.
However, those analysts — including former England manager Glenn Hoddle — who have suggested Benteke may find Liverpool’s high-tempo pressing game rather alien to a tendency to exert himself only in short bursts will have found evidence to support their argument. Liverpool are in the process of jettisoning one centre forward who likes to linger more in hope than expectation.
While it would be unfair to compare Benteke with Mario Balotelli, he must learn to offer more in terms of movement and energy than he did at times yesterday.
Still only 24, Benteke is not yet at full maturity. Nevertheless, he has a sure touch and there were moments when he dropped deep towards the supporting cast of Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Ibe to lay the ball off and link play intelligently and naturally.
Equally, however, there were instances when his appetite to close opposition players down or run off a defender’s shoulder seemed limited. Moments before Coutinho’s winning goal, for example, he was invited to compete with Geoff Cameron for a through-ball that saw them start with a 50-50 chance. It was a surprise to see the American defender win by half a yard. Over time, with more training and some competitive rhythm, Benteke should improve. He has, for example, a right to expect more service from the disappointing Ibe and the persistently feeble Lallana than he received yesterday. Equally, Liverpool must learn to use him properly. Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and his defenders must resist the temptation to strike in hope towards the new target. There were some impressive Liverpool debutants yesterday. Milner was their best player. They will expect a little more from Benteke.