It was reported on Monday that former Liverpool FC forward Divock Origi was retiring from professional football at the age of 31. While it is an unceremonious end to his career, the Belgian still created many lasting memories for fans around the world.
Over his eight season stint at Anfield, and 175 appearances, Origi made some very significant contributions that absolutely altered the trajectory of the club in some cases.
With that in mind, to celebrate his retirement, let's go back and revisit some of Divock Origi's best goals as a Liverpool player.
Merseyside Derby heroics (Liverpool v Everton - Dec. 2018)
This is perhaps one of the most memorable moments in the recent history of this historic rivalry.
Liverpool and Everton had battled and scrapped for 95 minutes before the Reds were pushing for a late winner when Virgil van Dijk tried to score an absolute worldie in the dying seconds, but instead he sliced it badly and the ball looped towards the crossbar.
The massive mishit made things extra dificult for Toffees keeper Jordan Pickford as it was Origi who suddenly found himself in the right spot at the right time.
Once Pickford's failed clearance altered the ball, the Belgian was the one who reacted first and headed in the goal for what would turn out to be the 96th minute winner.
It proved once again that no matter how odd it might look, Liverpool would always find a way at home to outduel Everton.
More late magic (Liverpool v Newcastle United – May 2019)
Just a few months later, Divock once again showed his pension for scoring clutch and winning-time goals for Liverpool whenever the chances fell to him.
This time around, Liverpool and Newcastle had battled to a 2-2 stalemate, and it looked like that was going to be the final outcome. Enter Origi.
Swiss maestro Xherdan Shaqiri whipped in one of his patented dangerous crosses and it found the head of Origi who leapt highest, and it was his headed effort that took a slight deflection on the way in for the winning goal in the 86th minute.
It was a result, that at the time, saw the Reds jump back over Manchester City to sit at the top of the Premier League table with little time left in the season. While they would ultimately fall short, this result gave us all hope.
The Final (Liverpool v Tottenham - June 2019)
This was the one of the biggest stages that Divock netted as a Liverpool player, but it ironically might not have necessarily been one of his most chaotic goals.
This time around, Liverpool had been leading for almost the entirety of the match following a successful Mohamed Salah penalty two minutes in.
With the Reds trying to salt things away late on, they had a corner, that after some deflections, fell to former defender Joel Matip. The experienced centre-back moved the ball to the wide left where it came to Origi.
Our No. 27 wasted little time in firing a pristine strike to the far post to make it 2-0 to the Reds and took away any remaining pressures as Klopp's men saw things out to claim their 6th European title.
The Comeback (Liverpool v Barcelona - May 2019)
The 2018/19 season was clearly an eventful one for Divock Origi at Liverpool. Before I dive into this one, I would be remiss to not mention some other huge goals scored by the Belgian.
His first league goal for the Reds salvaged a draw with West Brom in December 2015. Perhaps you remember his beauty of a curler against Borussia Dortmund in European action? Maybe it was his athletic finish, once more against Everton, in 2021 that stands out.
As it were, there are several moments and goals you can look back on during his time with Liverpool and have only positive memories. For a player that played so inconsistently, he always had the goods when the club needed him most.
That was never more apparent than when Barcelona came to Merseyside with a three-goal advantage in the Champions League semifinal tie with Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino both missed out, which meant that Klopp turned to Divock in the greatest hour of need, and as usual, the brilliant Belgian answered the call.
He got the comeback started inside ten minutes when he scored after pouncing on a free ball to get the Reds ahead early and the crowd into it right away. Some heroics from Gini Wijnaldum in the middle of the match meant things were tied as we got deeper into the action at Anfield.
Then, just before the 80th minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold, brilliant as he was, took a quick corner that caught the entire Barcelona defense slacking, and it was Origi who lashed it into the upper corner to make it 4-0 on the night and send Reds everywhere into unmitigated rapture.
Always in the right spot, at the right time, this two-goal showing in one of the most iconic matches in club history cemented Divock Origi as a cult hero. Enjoy retirement lad, and thanks for the beautiful memories.
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