Ran the show! Opened them up! Liverpool fans show love for underrated star
Liverpool fans have shown their love for underrated star Georginio Wijnaldum after his performance against Manchester City in the Champions League.
Wijnaldum, who has often been criticized this season, rose to the occasion and played magnificently as the Reds beat City 2-1 at the Etihad.
The Dutchman has a notoriously poor record away from home and is yet to score on his travels in the Premier League, and although he didn’t hit the back of the net the former Newcastle United man still had a good game.
Employed sandwiched between James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wijnaldum was asked to play a deeper role in the absence of Jordan Henderson and Emre Can.
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And it was a game that the 27-year-old played well. He made passes, tackles and dribbles in a performance that impressed Liverpool fans.
This was picked up by supporters on Twitter, who took to the social media to let the world know what they thought. Read some of the best opinions below!
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Wijnaldum keeping the ball under pressure for our goal was boss by the way
— Kev Summers (@Kev_Summers) April 11, 2018
Wijnaldum was the unsung hero of yesterday
— WINCHESTER (@temmy_awesome) April 11, 2018
Worked tirelessly in the midfield
Is right Gini Wijnaldum played his arse off last night and was one of my MOTM picks , he’s solid in that role https://t.co/G7bJluFtWc
— Woodsey (@DWLFC94) April 11, 2018
For all the stick that Lovren has received, he has continued to give his all and last night he was one of our best players away from home in a CL quarter final.
— Liam 🇵🇸 (@LFCLiamG) April 11, 2018
Wijnaldum hasn't covered himself in glory either, but last night was his best away performance since joining #LFC
Domestically, Wijnaldum is having a poor campaign. In his debut in England, the Dutchman hit 11 league goals for the Magpies – and followed this up with six during his first Liverpool season.
But he’s only hit the back of the net once during 2017/2018 and is credited with one assists. This is down on the nine he banked during his first Anfield season and the five Wijnaldum produced for Newcastle.
With 22 starts in the league and seven in the Champions League, manager Jurgen Klopp clearly values the Dutchman. But perhaps it’s time he showed a little more return on his manager’s faith with more than just tackles and blocks.
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Back to the game and there was a mixture of opinions in the national papers about how Wijnaldum performed. The Independent awarded him a 6/10, the Mirror a more generous seven and the Liverpool Echo a tremendous eight.