Topic: Takumi Minamino

[mattD]

Looks good with the ball at his feet, in tight spaces and presses well.

Can’t wait to see more of him.

[smutchin]

Solid debut. Lots of promise. As good as the kids were tonight, I think we'll see more of his true potential when he's playing alongside the adults.

[newterp]

This was a great game to help him understand the speed of England - less time to make decisions etc.

[RainbowFlick]

Interesting he was put into the number 9 for the game. I think Firmino is going through a weird patch so a possible alternative that’s similar enough (I.e. not Origi) would be decent.

[ToneLa]

He'll do.

(that's saying something when you're talking about belonging in our team after your first game, a Klopp tradition)

[Passmaster Molby]

Loved his pressing game, where he seemed to ghost up to their players without them noticing his prescence. He will settle into our set up very nicely and give Bobby some much needed rest now and again.

[KillieRed]

Possible alternate for Bobby.

Is that his best position?

[AnfieldRD19]

Possible alternate for Bobby.

Is that his best position?

Yeah in the center just behind the forwards which is pretty much Bobby’s role

[TAA66]

Very promising debut.  Gives us a viable alternative to Firmino.  Already looks fit, but I think he’ll be even better next season with a full Klopp pre season. 

[J-Mc-]

Loved his pressing but thought his touch let him down a fair bit tonight. Ball just seemed to bounce off him a few times but i’m putting that down to him needing to get used to the tempo we play at.

Solid debut.

[disgraced cake]

I thought it was a good debut, never run the show but you couldn't expect him to, I think as good as the young lads around him played, he'll obviously look even better with the usual front 3 and experienced midfield behind him, glad we've brought a player of his quality in January, even in such a great league position. What's great is he can be played in Europe too.

[Schmidt]

Loved his pressing but thought his touch let him down a fair bit tonight. Ball just seemed to bounce off him a few times but i’m putting that down to him needing to get used to the tempo we play at.

Solid debut.

Derby debut with the kids at Anfield in a possibly more complicated role than he's used to, not the best way to start but good to give the normal guys a rest. I thought he was standing way too close to the guy on the ball and asking for it to feet too much, we might've been better with Origi through the middle but I'd bet Klopp was willing to put up with that dysfunction to get him some minutes in that role.

[classycarra]

Loved his pressing but thought his touch let him down a fair bit tonight. Ball just seemed to bounce off him a few times but i’m putting that down to him needing to get used to the tempo we play at.

Solid debut.

Might be wrong but think that only really happened once we got into the second half just before he came off. Considering he hasn't played competitively since the game we beat him you can understand some fatigue - from intelligent pressing - making him rusty

[Marty 85]

Derby debut with the kids at Anfield in a possibly more complicated role than he's used to, not the best way to start but good to give the normal guys a rest. I thought he was standing way too close to the guy on the ball and asking for it to feet too much, we might've been better with Origi through the middle but I'd bet Klopp was willing to put up with that dysfunction to get him some minutes in that role.

I wasn't sure if he was under instructions to show for the ball and give an easy out to help the young lads abit more or he just wanted the pass played to his feet instead of making the run through. Still, solid debut all the same.

[Occy]

Considering he has had 2 training sessions. Doesn’t know anyone, hasn’t played with anyone. He did marvellous.

Expecting anything more would be silly. How long has he even been in the country?

Trying to analyse his game is pointless. He would have taken in nothing as yet.

Showing energy and the right atttitude was enough for me at this stage of his LFC career. For that he gets a 10/10.

[Kansti]

Derby debut with the kids at Anfield in a possibly more complicated role than he's used to, not the best way to start but good to give the normal guys a rest. I thought he was standing way too close to the guy on the ball and asking for it to feet too much, we might've been better with Origi through the middle but I'd bet Klopp was willing to put up with that dysfunction to get him some minutes in that role.

I noticed that too. He was asking the ball in really tight spaces. That's something Naby does too. There are obviously very confident in receiving the ball while being closely marked.

[Lynndenberries]

Looks like a perfect backup for Firmino. I always wondered how and when we would find someone to replicate his role, but he seems like that type of player.

[Knight]

Considering he has had 2 training sessions. Doesn’t know anyone, hasn’t played with anyone. He did marvellous.

Expecting anything more would be silly. How long has he even been in the country?

Trying to analyse his game is pointless. He would have taken in nothing as yet.

Showing energy and the right atttitude was enough for me at this stage of his LFC career. For that he gets a 10/10.

At least as far as the positive things he showed it's not at all pointless analysing his game. He showed some really good things (the way he pressed for instance) which is really encouraging. If he can perform like that in his first game in the Firmino role it suggest that he may be able to deputise there as he gets up to speed. And having someone who can deputise for Firmino would be huge, it feels to me that Firmino would benefit more than Salah or Mane from being taken out of the firing line a little more.

[Bobbyf9kungfu]

Was fuming with him for missing that chance on Sunday. Thought he looked a bit lost at times but I think with better players around him he’ll be sound.

[Gus 1855]

Tough debut for a number of reasons.

Looked to be holding back a bit, not going in for tackles etc, suggesting it may take a little time to adjust to the physicality of the league.

Plenty of good skill though and will help with the rest of the full team. Suspect he’ll be a luxury player for the rest of the season, but exciting to see how he does. Cannot see him getting many games as a false 9 though in the immediate future.

[stockdam]

I don’t expect him to start in many league games as he’ll probably take time to learn how he fits into our style. He does have bags of skill and energy and he’ll play an important role at some stage. I think he is a super player.

[JC the Messiah]

Tough debut for a number of reasons.

Looked to be holding back a bit, not going in for tackles etc, suggesting it may take a little time to adjust to the physicality of the league.

Plenty of good skill though and will help with the rest of the full team. Suspect he’ll be a luxury player for the rest of the season, but exciting to see how he does. Cannot see him getting many games as a false 9 though in the immediate future.

Interesting. One of the positives I took from it was his willingness to stick a foot in and make a challenge. Didn't look averse to putting himself about, and even giving away a free kick instead of letting the player get away. Much like Bobby in that regard.

[classycarra]

Interesting. One of the positives I took from it was his willingness to stick a foot in and make a challenge. Didn't look averse to putting himself about, and even giving away a free kick instead of letting the player get away. Much like Bobby in that regard.

I saw it the same way as you. And on that foul, the guy had gone in on him in what should have been a foul a minute or two before. I took it as a good sign he wasn't going to be bullied. I'm sure plenty in Austria have tried to kick Salzburg out of games

[smurfinaus]

very positive .lots of movement showing for ball. trying to be progressive.Like others mentioned. Bobby lite.
Someone mentioned he also can play in midfield? (CM?). anyone got stats how much time (if at all) he had in different positions while at Salzburg and before that?.

[AmanShah21]

Link up play will take some time to develop but work rate is already very very encouraging. Will be an absolute belter once bedded in.

[terry_macss_perm]

I’m not sure that Bobby would have done any better in the circumstances with such a makeshift side so I don’t see any value in analysing his performance.

[gray19lfc]

very positive .lots of movement showing for ball. trying to be progressive.Like others mentioned. Bobby lite.
Someone mentioned he also can play in midfield? (CM?). anyone got stats how much time (if at all) he had in different positions while at Salzburg and before that?.

Mainly through the middle for Japan or off the right for Salzburg.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/takumi-minamino/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/165793/plus/0?saison=&verein=409&liga=&wettbewerb=&pos=&trainer_id=

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/takumi-minamino/nationalmannschaft/spieler/165793

[smutchin]

Looks like he has always been a Liverpool player. Can't wait until he really clicks into gear.

[Zlen]

Looks like he has always been a Liverpool player. Can't wait until he really clicks into gear.

Hm.
Looked slow and soft to me, but I hardly expected much more after he got thrown in the deep end tonight.
He does work hard.

[Chakan]

He's still finding his feet and place in the side, some good moments. He'll get there.

[El Lobo]

Grew into it nicely. Can’t have been easy coming on that early against that team. Did really well at the end.

[AmanShah21]

Looks like he has always been a Liverpool player. Can't wait until he really clicks into gear.

Not quite. Don't want to knock the lad cause he's only just got here, but he was a bit lost at times in terms of positioning. I am sure he'll be fine once he gets through a few more sessions and gets more minutes to build up his link up play and match fitness at our tempo but he is still a bit off from looking like the player we bought.

[farawayred]

He's still finding his feet and place in the side, some good moments. He'll get there.

Looks like he played mostly off the ball. The others didn't seek him out. It's like we had 10.5 man on the field.

[Redknight60]

Really tough game for him to come into. Hes used to the pace of the Austrian league. Needs another 6 months of training to get him in shape where he needs to be and I'm sure he will be.

I noticed towards the end he took a cue from Gini about harassing them. He will learn what's expected in time.

[Silverbird]

I felt like some of our players weren't really keen on passing to him. Maybe he was asking for the ball in too tight spaces; he did occasionally run into channels where there was no way to pass to him, and the long balls were hard for him to fight for. He probably needs to bulk up a little in the summer. But his workrate is definitely right up there.

[PIPA23]

thrown in to watter a bit early than he should... i think he did well

if Salah would pass, there is a chance he could have scored already tonight...

[Red Cactii]

Grew into it nicely. Can’t have been easy coming on that early against that team. Did really well at the end.

My thoughts exactly. He’ll only get better the more minutes he gets as the season goes on.

[HeartAndSoul]

Think we’ll see the best of him next season. This season will be about bedding in and getting used to our tactics

[Asam]

Given the circumstances I thought he did well, he will be a great asset once he’s adjusted to the pace of the game here, would love to see him start in the FA CUP

[RedSince86]

Did okay.

Tough game for him to come into, That was our toughest game of the season by far.