Jurgen Klopp hailed the performance of Stefan Bajcetic in a new midfield role after the teenager shone in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Everton on Monday.
Bacjetic, who has now started the last four games for the Reds, was named in the centre of the park alongside Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in the 242nd Merseyside derby, but was instructed to operate further forward than the usual defensive midfield position he has occupied since breaking into the first team.
The 18-year-old was outstanding as a result as goals from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo gave Liverpool their first Premier League win in 2023 to go within nine points of fourth-placed Newcastle, who Klopp's side have a game in hand on ahead of Saturday's fixture between the sides at St James' Park.
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Klopp was fulsome in his praise of how Bajcetic adapted to the tactical tweak that allowed him to play further up the pitch against Sean Dyche's Toffees.
“Pretty good!" was Klopp's assessment. "We put him in a new position. I don’t think he’d ever played in the position before. He came here as a kid as a centre-half and played now as a No.6 in a few games and tonight as a No.8 and a lot of moments as a double six. He did extremely well. It was quite a good performance, to be honest."
Klopp was also delighted for Gakpo to get off the mark in his seventh appearance since joining from PSV Eindhoven at the start of January. The Netherlands forward was on hand to tap home from Trent Alexander-Arnold's low cross and the Reds boss said it was a timely goal, admitting Darwin Nunez could also benefit from getting the opportunity to convert such a gilt-edge chance.
Klopp added: “Yes, good performance as well. The way he set up the chance for Darwin as well, he had other moments when he came out under pressure and there was a foul or a free-kick, and he did extremely well under massive pressure down the centre.
"In the end it wasn’t the most difficult goal he will ever score but it’s exactly the goal each striker is dreaming of when it didn’t happen for a while. Both goals were really important for both players.
"The next one who needs something like that is Darwin, the chance he had was a really good one. Darwin had an insane run for the first goal and a super pass. We didn’t have these situations too often to be 100% honest, but I saw while I was changing, [I heard] the analysis from Carra (Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports) and they spoke for like 10 minutes about how this goal could have been defended.
"But in the end if it hit the head of the defender, it’s still a good counter-attack without the goal."
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