Liverpool warmed up for the start of the 2020-21 Premier League campaign with an emphatic 7-2 victory over League One side Blackpool on Saturday afternoon.The Reds were 2-0 down inside the opening 33 minutes after a terrible start to the game.CJ Hamilton and Jerry Yates (from the penalty spot) both scored past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson.But the hosts pulled a goal back through Joel Matip in the 43rd minute and went on to score six more times in the second half.Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Harvey Elliott, Takumi Minamino, Divock Origi and Sepp van den Berg all got themselves on the scoresheet after the restart.Of all Liverpool’s players, it was Minamino who earned the most praise from Liverpool fans on social media.
The Japan international, who joined Liverpool in a deal worth £7.25 million from Red Bull Salzburg in January, struggled to make an impact during his first half-season at Anfield.But he reportedly looked ‘fantastic’ in training post-lockdown as it emerged, via The Athletic’s James Pearce, that Minamino had used the three months of lockdown to learn English via intensive lessons in an attempt to help his adaptation into the Liverpool squad.The 25-year-old midfielder certainly looked comfortable playing for the Reds on Saturday.A video of his individual highlights is being shared by fans on Twitter and you can watch it here…
He could have a big role to play at Anfield during the upcoming season.
Here’s how Liverpool fans reacted to his latest performance…
Klopp also praised Minamino during his post-match press conference, telling reporters: “I hope (he takes) a lot (of confidence from it). It’s clear that’s what you always hope for. It’s important for Taki and important for us, but it’s about all together, so I think about the overall performance.
“Individuals then can always shine when everything else works, that’s how it is. If you only have these individual glimpses here and there, it doesn’t really work out.
“So, we have to work to win football games. Who scores then is not too important. But for Taki, of course it was a rather nice seven or eight days – of course.”
Minamino will be back in action next Saturday when Liverpool begin the defence of their Premier League crown at home to Leeds United.