JORDAN HENDERSON’S PERFORMANCE in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Sheffield United last night left Jurgen Klopp thrilled, the German lauding him as “absolutely incredible”.
Liverpool were comfortable winners at Anfield, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane getting the goals in either half.
The victory allows Liverpool’s unbeaten run to surpass a full year, as their most recent Premier League loss came on 3 January, 2019 – they are next in top-flight action on 11 January.
Yet, it was the performance of Henderson that provoked the most excitable response from Klopp in his post-match news conference.
The midfielder made four key passes, completed 92% of his 131 passes and gained possession 12 times, seeing him continue a strong run of form.
“Yes, he’s exceptional. Yes, he’s outstanding. Gini [Georginio Wijnaldum] and Hendo [Henderson], because they had the biggest number of games, what they have played there is just incredible, absolutely incredible.
“I don’t take that for granted for one second. If anybody who is with us doesn’t see the quality of Jordan Henderson, I can’t help.
“Is Hendo the perfect player? No. Do I know anybody who is? No. Is he unbelievably important to us? Yes.
“He didn’t like the position, number six, when he saw how good Fabinho is. I asked him, two or three weeks ago, when he played already exceptional in the position, ‘You don’t like the position, right?’
“He was laughing. Before that he played centre-half. I don’t know exactly what Gareth Southgate [England manager] is now doing with him, which position he will play there, but there are a few options obviously.
“You see it in life, that character and mentality helps always and in this case especially. For me it’s only difficult to speak about one person positively because I always feel I have to mention all the others as well. I don’t take it for granted for one second.”
Liverpool’s next outing is an FA Cup third-round clash with Merseyside rivals Everton at Anfield on Sunday.
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