Liverpool 2-0 Man Utd: Three things we learned from Gini Wijnaldum

Puts the engine in engine room

His awareness and tactical appreciation of the role don’t come cheap, and although Gini Wijnaldum can go missing through games, he bossed the park against United in a way that was incredible to watch.

Klopp rates him so much in this role that he reckons he could go on to be a manager, and although the Dutchman is yet to score this season he has proven his worth as way more than someone who scores or lays them on.

Wijnaldum stayed central a lot – and near the half-way line – although he did drift out to the left and got forward in an attempt to close down the Red Devil midfield and put pressure on them in their half.

The way Gini made space for others, including when he moved inside to act as a pure decoy runner while showing Andy Robertson that the pass to Sadio Mane was on. That would have resulted in a goal if Mane hadn’t miss-controlled – but Wijnaldum’s involvement wouldn’t have counted in official records.

Time and time against Wijnaldum showed his excellent strength and ability to keep the ball under pressure. That’s an underrated ability for anyone to have, but when you combine it with his other skills it adds up to one highly valuable player.