Following his Liverpool debut against Derby, Jurgen Klopp singled out 16-year-old winger Ben Doak for praise, complimenting him for having “shown up.” In his starting lineup for the Carabao Cup third-round match at Anfield, Klopp made 11 adjustments, five of which were complete debuts for young players.
Layton Stewart, Melkamu Frauendorf, Bobby Clark, Stefan Bajcetic, and Calvin Ramsay all made their debuts for Joe Gomez’s team, which had an average age of 21.8 years.
The fact that Liverpool failed to defeat a League One team and needed the heroics of Caoimhin Kelleher to secure victory in a penalty shootout may not have come as a surprise.
However, there were some encouraging signs throughout, not least a courageous cameo from Doak, who made his senior team debut and made an immediate impression. Klopp’s response during the post-game press conference was, “That’s Ben.”
A Wise Player
“His instructions were simple: just carry out your regular routine. He is a tremendously vivacious young man who plays with intelligence, is quick and skilled with both legs.
He’s great! Yes, it was enjoyable to watch. His entry into the room and the fact that many things came naturally to him right away were incredibly enjoyable to observe.
2KE2CC1 Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, celebrates at the conclusion of the Carabao Cup third-round game at Anfield in London. Klopp may have faced criticism for the extensive roster alterations he made, leaving out nearly every significant player, but the manager stood by his strategy.
A Great Player Is Coming
He emphasised the benefit of allowing those young players a chance to shine in his argument. Although we didn’t have much time to prepare for the game, we were nevertheless able to train with this team at least once, he remarked.
According to what he mentioned the previous year, when you lose, people always think you didn’t take the competition seriously because you were too young. Never was it accurate.
“But we must take action and ensure that nobody is put in danger. That is very significant. Another thing is that we truly enjoy giving the boys chances.
“So it was like eight or nine really young boys, and it’s so nice to see them, that you can just give them the opportunity to play real men’s football, against a team that obviously wanted to advance.
“We all knew — he pretty sure, he didn’t ask anyone — that these games would have been incredibly crucial for Derby financially, another round, perhaps another Premier League team, and then to get through is simply a tremendous experience.”
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