One Liverpool player will surely feel that he answered a few of his critics with his performance in the 2-0 win over Como on Sunday.
The post-match headlines were dominated by the performance of Jeremy Jacquet, who scored on his first appearance for the Reds, although there were plenty of others in Andoni Iraola’s side who made a positive impression in the final pre-season friendly of the summer.
There was a distinct Dutch flavour to the first goal, with Jeremie Frimpong’s diagonal delivery teeing up Cody Gakpo to score, and the former played like a man with a point to prove after missing out on his country’s World Cup squad.
Frimpong praised for his display in Liverpool win
The Liverpool Echo‘s Paul Gorst praised the 25-year-old for his overall performance, and in particular for a brilliantly-timed challenge shortly after that goal to thwart a dangerous Como attack.
The reporter said of the right-back: ‘At a time when the Reds look light on that side of the pitch, this was an encouraging outing from the versatile former Bayer Leverkusen man.
‘Questions remain about where he is most effective and best suited but Iraola clearly sees Frimpong as an adventurous right-back. If he can stay injury-free, he stands a decent chance of making his second season much more productive at Anfield.’
Also for the Liverpool Echo, Ian Doyle gave Frimpong 7/10 in his post-match player ratings as he observed: ‘Good run and cross created the opener and better defensive discipline, particularly with one first-half goal-saving challenge.’
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
A fine display from the much-maligned Frimpong
The Dutchman’s first season at Liverpool didn’t exactly go to plan, with his momentum checked by numerous hamstring injuries and some of his performances drawing strong criticism.
Former Reds winger Boudewijn Zenden said earlier this year that Frimpong ‘has to step it up‘, while Jan Molby scathingly remarked that the 25-year-old ‘plays like a kid‘.
It’ll take more than one impressive pre-season outing for such scepticism over the right-back to truly disappear, but he’d have every right to feel pleased with his display against Como, as supported by the figures below from Sofascore.
As Gorst referenced, the long-term absence of Conor Bradley has left Liverpool light in that position, so the opportunity is there for Frimpong to properly nail down that place in the starting XI if he can maintain fitness and a high standard of performance.
The key for the Netherlands international will be to replicate what he showed on Sunday and not let it be a false dawn, a bit like his showcase in the Community Shield 12 months ago.