Jurgen Klopp was happy to share his instructions for Ben Doak as the 16-year-old made his Liverpool debut last night. Doak shone against Derby County as the Reds won on penalties.
Ben Doak got his Liverpool debut last night at Anfield. He came on as a sub for the final period of the game – and looked very lively.
The 16-year-old has built an excellent reputation in the academy since arriving from Celtic. Some of his displays are truly magnificent, in fact, and it was never going to be long before he got a go with the seniors.
That came last night as Liverpool struggled to break down a resilient Derby County side. The game finished 0-0 but heroics from Caoimhín Kelleher saved the day as the Reds won a penalty shootout.
Doak, though, did all he could to force a goal. He was dangerous on the right flank and never stopped running at defenders.
That’s exactly what Doak does at youth level and also what Klopp wanted to see when bringing the youngster on.
“That’s Ben,” said Klopp after the game, per Liverpoolfc.com. “His instructions were easy: do what you do all the time.
“He is really a lively boy, a smart player, good dribbler, fast, can use both legs. He’s good. It was nice to watch, really nice to watch – him coming in and immediately a lot of things are obviously natural to him, which is really helpful.
“I am pretty sure his family was here tonight. I can remember when I saw the family at the AXA when we signed the boy, how excited everybody was. Now having this night, it’s the next step, it’s cool. He showed up, obviously.”
Ben Doak makes Liverpool debut
This was a fantastic start. Doak didn’t see too much come off at Anfield, admittedly, but this was his first senior outing for Liverpool. It was also a new challenge in that Derby offered very little space to attack and defended their penalty area. That doesn’t typically happen at youth level.
And so what we did see from Doak was very encouraging. He looks ready to take further strides into the senior setup and while we don’t expect to see him against Southampton, this won’t be his last appearance of the season.
Liverpool have a special one here. That’s abundantly clear.
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