Unlikely Liverpool star impresses fans during Atalanta loss

Kostas Tsimikas impressed Liverpool fans in the dull defeat to Atalanta.

The Red’s shambolic performance against the Serie A side was a struggle to watch. Yet some fans found some positives in the Greek international’s Champions League debut for the club.

Kostas Tsimikas joined the Reds in the summer from Olympiacos. He was brought in as standby to first-choice left-back Andy Robertson but had started just once prior to tonight’s game, which was the perfect opportunity for him to start.

While the game may have been an incredibly tough watch for fans, Tsimikas’ attacking instinct was a sight for sore eyes. In a match where there were zero shots on target, Liverpool fans drew their only bits of satisfaction from the Greek International’s crosses and runs forward.

60 minutes into the game and Jurgen Klopp decided to take him off the field. This decision raised some eyebrows. However, it could have been because of the yellow card he picked up minutes ago.

There was one particular moment which had us all watching with intent. Tsimikas was cornered by two Atalanta players near the corner flag, yet his determination and grit got him out of the situation and keeping possession at the same time, which was incredibly pleasing to watch.

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The game definitely did not go to plan for Liverpool, but seeing glimpses of Tsimikas’ shine offered some respite to most Kopites. He still has a long way to go if he wants to play regular football for Liverpool, and that is mainly down to Andy Robertson’s sheer brilliance.

The club’s official website has quoted Robbo speaking on the competition which Tsimikas offers and why it is healthy.

"He said: “For me personally, he’s obviously in my position and I want to stay the number one left-back.”“We have competition in every place and it’s up to the lads that get the starting jersey to keep it and that’s certainly going to be my aim. It’s my objective to do that and hopefully I can do that.”"

Overall, the team’s performance was far from the required levels, with Tsimikas being one of the very few players that showed glimpses of optimism, as suggested in our player ratings.

When will we see the Greek again? The congested fixture scheduled suggests fans won’t have to wait too long. Fulham, on the 12th of December, or Midtjylland a few days before, could be good fixtures.