4 tackles, 3 interceptions – Kostas Tsimikas just sent a message to Liverpool

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Kostas Tsimikas put in a fine display for Liverpool against Norwich City on Wednesday evening. The Greek sent a message with his performance.

Jurgen Klopp opted to rest most of his stars in the FA Cup at Anfield. They’d largely all played 120 minutes in the EFL Cup final on Sunday, after all, and this was a game for the squad players to step up.

And they mostly did. Takumi Minamino took the headlines, of course, with his match-winning display but he wasn’t the only player who sent a message here. Kostas Tsimikas, too, made sure he was firmly on the Liverpool radar.

His four tackles stand out here. Tsimikas attempted four, won them all, and made three interceptions, too (per Whoscored). It was a much-needed defensive display in what turned out to be a close game.

But those figures don’t sum everything up. Tsimikas was electric at times, bombing up and down the line to perfection and offering constant width. In truth, he should have been played in more often as he got behind the defence.

Kostas Tsimikas sends a Liverpool message

This was a cup match but one against Premier League opposition – albeit the bottom side. Tsimikas looked great, though, and that’s despite limited game-time recently.

He’s only featured five times in 2022, for instance, with one of those appearances being a stoppage-time substitution against Shrewsbury Town. Despite that lack of rhythm, Tsimikas is clearly ready to deliver whenever called upon.

And that’s a message to Klopp that the 25-year-old can be entirely relied upon right now, even as the campaign reaches its business end. Tsimikas will be key as the Reds fight on three more fronts.

That eases pressure on Andy Robertson to stay as fit as possible. Liverpool can rotate the two and, even in big games, get the quality they need at left-back. It’s a luxury not every team has and it’s vital across so many competitions.

We’ve said before that Tsimikas is proving to be a breakthrough player this year and that continues. He’s now firmly a key member of the Liverpool squad.