Liverpool youngster Fabio Carvalho came in for some praise for his 17-minute cameo against Manchester United last night.
Carvalho was introduced deep into the second-half with The Reds 2-0 down. He played a big part in his team halving the deficit and generally caught the eye.
In what was a poor performance all round, the Liverpool player’s display last night was one of few positives. Giving him a 7 out of 10, The I said he added some ‘much-needed energy’ to Liverpool’s game.
Both the Liverpool Echo and Sky Sports perhaps harshly gave Carvalho a 6 out of 10. But both had some nice words about the 19-year-old’s display.
The Echo said the teenager looked ‘bright,’ whereas Sky called him ‘a good addition off the bench’ and said Carvalho ‘did not look out of place at Old Trafford.’
Carvalho provides ray of light for Liverpool
In a grim night for Liverpool, the performance of Carvalho should offer a little encouragement.
The Reds did indeed look a fair bit better after the introduction of the Portugal U21 international. His willingness to drive at the United defence caused the hosts one or two issues.
It’s obvious that he is excellent in possession, and his movement in the penalty area and fierce shot helped to open the scoring for Liverpool.
Questions will perhaps be asked as to why Carvalho wasn’t introduced sooner in the game. With Liverpool so clearly lacking an extra dimension up-front, Jurgen Klopp could have thrown him on as soon as the second goal went in.
You can understand why Jurgen Klopp didn’t, though. Carvalho is still only nineteen and Liverpool were really struggling at times at Old Trafford.
Klopp may have felt it could do more harm than good to throw the young man in too early on such a night.
Carvalho is a determined character though. He obviously back himself to succeed at Liverpool and with his national team.
If he can show similar industry throughout the week in training, he should be a contender to start on Saturday.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
