Arsene Wenger is in awe of Liverpool right – and specifically their scouts. The former Arsenal boss gives them the highest praise.
Liverpool beat Benfica 3-1 in Lisbon on Tuesday evening – a massive result for the Reds. They’ve now got one foot in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, yet again.
This one started wonderfully with Liverpool boasting a 2-0 half-time lead. An Ibrahima Konate mistake – after scoring the opener – let Benfica back into this, though. They then had some fine chances to equalise but couldn’t quite take them.
Luis Diaz then wrapped things up for Liverpool with a fine finish that earned praise from Gary Lineker. The Reds are now in a very strong position to push into the semi-finals.
Everyone at the club deserves praise for that, of course. But speaking to beIN Sports, Arsene Wenger reserved special praise for the scouts at Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger on Liverpool
“I would give 10/10 to the scouts,” said Wenger. “Nothing was wrong there, from [Mohamed] Salah & [Sadio] Mané to [Virgl] Van Dijk. Now Diaz – Diaz looks special. Unbelievable what they’ve done.
“The only guy who didn’t integrate as well as we expected from the start on was Thiago, a little bit [Naby] Keita. It took them some time to adjust to the Premier League pace. They’ve done extremely well, Liverpool.”
It’s impossible to disagree, here. The recruitment at Liverpool had been unbelievable in recent years, with just about every signing clicking. Even those that took time – Andy Robertson, Fabinho – went on to be superstars.
Keita is perhaps the only one who hasn’t fit 100%, and only because of the large fee. But then he played the pass for Diaz to wrap things up tonight – he’s still been excellent.
Liverpool’s recruitment has been as big a reason as any for their success in recent years. It appears set to continue, too.
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