Ox fights for his future in rare outing
‘this situation is not always easy for all the boys, not only Ox. Am I counting on him for next season? Yes’ Jurgen Klopp, May 7,2021.
Wanda Metropolitano LIVERPOOL’S manager looked down the barrel of a Tv camera as he said those words. He spoke clearly and his message was emphatic. at a time when doubts swirled about alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future on Merseyside, they were not shared by the man whose opinion matters most.
Six months on from that statement, though, and the uncertainty continues over what role this midfielder will have in the long term — his display against Brighton last Saturday only reigniting the debate. it wasn’t, to put it bluntly, a good day and Klopp did not try to argue otherwise.
‘He set up the second goal with a nice cross and that was it,’ was Klopp’s blunt verdict. ‘He can play better football.’
But Klopp is not someone who allows his thoughts to be prejudiced and if Ox lade Chamberlain( below) needed a lift, it arrived an hour before kick-off last night. Here was a rare start. and rare is the right word for 2021.
There were two in January, against Southampton and Burnley. The next one did not arrive until august, at Carrow Road on the opening day of this season, while his only other starts were in the EFL Cup against norwich and Preston.
Delve a little deeper into Ox lade playing time and something even more remarkable emerges — he has only managed 90 minutes twice in his last 76 appearances for club and country, dating back to april 2018.
Yes, you read that correctly — norwich in the EFL Cup on September 21 and before that Monterrey in the Club World Cup semifinal in Doha on December 18, 2019.
no wonder there was so much riding on this collision with atletico Madrid for the former arsenal man.
Few would dispute he deserves a change of fortune. There was a point not long after Philippe Coutinho had been sold to Barcelona in January 2018 that he looked ready to take over the Brazilian’s mantle, slamming in vital goals against Manchester City in front of The Kop.
They love him in the dressing room and the day it emerged he had suffered a severe knee injury in the Champions League semi-final against Roma that effectively changed the course of his Liverpool career was one of the bleakest at Melwood of Klopp’s reign.
But he is not a man to feel sorry for himself, so Saturday’s limited run out — when he replaced the hamstrung naby Keita — was never going to prey on his mind. OxladeChamberlain is a confident young man and that was evident in his start last night.
a scampering run down the left in the 16th minute had Klopp beating his hands together enthusiastically.
an instinctive, 23rd-minute shot from a Mo Salah lay-off was dragged just off target, then a 26th-minute header was crucial in taking danger away from angel Correa.
Was it a perfect display? no. There were groans from different quarters when he surrendered possession too easily and a rollicking from Klopp in the 67th minute when his lax pass allowed atletico to launch an attack.
The best sight of the night came when he got up shortly after to carry on, having looked like he might have suffered another injury. and while the 28-year-old’s night ended prematurely in the 78th minute, he left the field to a standing ovation in recognition of his determined efforts.
He needs all this, the minutes in an important game and appreciation from the public. He also needs to push on from here.
Klopp, as he stated so forcefully, is counting on Oxlade-Chamberlain.