Takumi Minamino was one of star performers on Tuesday night after a much-changed Liverpool starting 11 came from behind to defeat Southampton 2-1, keeping their Premier League title hopes alive.
Jurgen Klopp made nine changes to the team that beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final via penalties on Saturday, and having seen Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk join Fabinho on the injury list, the door was opened for the likes of Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and of course Minamino to make a rare start.
The Japan international has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Anfield this season, despite boasting the record of being Liverpool ’s leading goalscorer in both domestic cup competitions, scoring four times in the League Cup and three times in the FA Cup. That wasn’t enough to secure him a place in the matchday squad for the Reds’ FA Cup semi-final and final victories over Man City and Chelsea though.
But Tuesday evening was a reminder that when called upon, the 27-year-old is almost always dependable, especially in front of goal. It was Minamino who levelled the scoring at St Marys with an excellent finish into the roof of Alex McCarthy’s net, and that secured goals in back-to-back Premier League starts for the forward, though admittedly the last came way back in December 2020.
Minamino's efficiency and reliability in front of goal can be captured by drilling into his numbers. Despite his bit-part role this season, the forward has scored ten goals across all competitions. That total came from just over 1100 minutes of competitive action, which means that goal return breaks down to an impressive average of 0.80 goals per 90.
He’s also attempted just 27 shots in all competitions this season, meaning he’s scoring one goal for roughly every three shots he takes. Needless to say, these numbers can’t be matched by any of Liverpool’s more favoured attackers.
It’s more than likely that this impressive conversion rate would subside with more regular minutes, yet even so, Minamino's ability to come out from cold and consistently deliver big goals does remind you a little of Liverpool teammate Divock Origi. The Belgian forward has almost never been a regular for Klopp, however he’s scored a plethora of big decisive goals, including ones in a Champions League final and several Merseyside Derbies.
While he’s not able to threaten the likes of Salah, Sadio Mane and co for starts, he’s still forged himself a key role in the squad, becoming Klopp’s go-to man when his side need a goal. The 27-year-old will depart from Anfield at the end of this campaign with his contract due to expire. And Minamino could well be the ideal player to take his place.
There’s no doubt that’d suit Liverpool and Klopp, yet perhaps less so the player himself who might have ambitions to be something more. That won’t happen at Liverpool and it could prove the major stumbling block to this potential change in his squad role.
