Jurgen Klopp rates Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s Liverpool FC return
Jurgen Klopp has his say on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's return to Liverpool FC action on Saturday
Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for his ‘outstanding’ display in Liverpool FC’s 2-1 win at Southampton after the midfielder’s first Premier League start in 16 months.
The England international suffered a season-ending injury in Liverpool FC’s 5-2 win over AS Roma in the Champions League semi-final in April 2018.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was sidelined for most of the 2018-19 Premier League season with the knee problem before his substitute appearance in a 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town in April.
The 26-year-old impressed in the Liverpool FC midfield on the right alongside Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner.
Oxlade-Chamberlain finished with 89 per cent pass completion as well as two successful dribbles and two shots on goal.
Asked about the England international’s performance in Liverpool FC’s 2-1 win at Southampton, Klopp said:
“It was outstandingly good. It was 45 minutes on Wednesday, we can now say they helped for sure, to get the minutes, to feel the intensity, and know you are ready for the intensity. Then we had to make changes and we did.
Especially for us it’s really important that in the centre of the park we are ready for all these long runs, all these decisive things, so we changed there… it was good to have this opportunities and Ox was obviously not bad.”
Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino put Liverpool FC into a 2-0 lead at St Mary’s before Adrian’s mistake allowed Danny Ings to halve the deficit with seven minutes to go.
Oxlade-Chamberlain moved to Liverpool FC in a £40m deal from Arsenal in the 2018 summer transfer window.
The ex-Arsenal star scored five goals in 42 games in all competitions in a promising first season at the 18-time English champions.
