Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised Wataru Endo’s play against Toulouse in the Europa League Friday night.
The Reds hammered five past a French side that was nowhere near competitive. It was an easy evening for Liverpool’s players, and Endo capitalized by scoring his first goal for the club. Klopp was blown away by his performance.
Jurgen Klopp thinks Wataru Endo of Liverpool was ‘absolutely wild’ against Toulouse
Liverpool recruited Wataru Endo from Stuttgart in the summer, and the signing was met with skepticism.
When the Reds chose to sign the Japan international, they had already missed out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, and he was considered as a panic buy by many.
Endo is certainly not a world-beater at his position, but he is a good player. Last night, he started in the middle of the park and played his greatest game in a Liverpool shirt.
The 30-year-old performed admirably. He dominated the game from midfield, was excellent on the ball, and even scored a goal.
Liverpool fans lauded his performance last night, and Klopp singled him out in his post-game news conference.
According to Liverpoolfc.com, he stated, “I like a lot of individual performances, but I would like to mention Waturu Endo.”
“I’m not sure if that’s spectacular or whatever, but the forward passes he made tonight were absolutely incredible, and how often he broke lines with one touch was insane, and then he scores a wonderful goal, which helps every player – even a more experienced player.”
“Wow, that’s awesome. If I hadn’t taken him off, he would have received a similar hug.”
Stats for Wataru Endo vs. Toulouse
Wataru Endo was perhaps Liverpool’s best player last night, aside from Ryan Gravenberch.
The £50,000-a-week (Spotrac) Japan international had 87 touches of the ball and completed 66 of 69 attempted passes, giving him a passing accuracy of 96%.
He had three interceptions, five tackles, and despite not being the biggest player on the field, he won 10 of his 15 duels, which is not terrible. (SofaScore)
Endo isn’t a regular starter for Liverpool, but he’s more than capable of coming on and filling in whenever Klopp needs him.