Jurgen Klopp was reunited with former Liverpool favourite Divock Origi this evening, as the Reds beat AC Milan in Dubai.
Not in the matchday squad, Origi couldn’t help as his former side dismantled his current one 4-1 in the friendly. But after the game, as per Dubai Super Cup on Twitter, the Belgian was spotted chatting with his old boss.
“So nice to see you!” exclaims Klopp, as he goes in for the bear hug. The German then explains something to Divock that is unfortunately out of earshot of the camera, before finishing with a “all the best my man.”
A nice moment between a player who gave Liverpool so much, and a manager who always kept faith in him. We miss you, Div!
Origi struggling for take off at Milan
From the moment this fixture was first announced, this is something that we had looked forward to seeing. The only great shame is that Origi wasn’t able to get on the pitch. Although, had he managed to get on, perhaps the scoreline wouldn’t have been quite so convincing for Liverpool!
Either way, you can’t help feel that both Liverpool and Origi made the wrong decision in parting ways last summer.
For Divock himself, he hasn’t been able to get going at Milan at all. 14 games have yielded just one goal, and he’s only started four matches all season. There have even been suggestions that they want to replace him already.
The 27-year-old was having a little better go of things just before the World Cup break, though. His four starts came during Milan’s last seven games. Hopefully he can turn things around when the season restarts.
For Liverpool, they currently find themselves with a little bit of a scarcity of forwards. Following injuries to Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, you’d have to imagine that Origi would have been handed chances had he stayed put.
His situation is a little reminiscent of Dejan Lovren’s decision to leave Liverpool in 2020. Lovren departed due to a lack of opportunities at Anfield. Mere months later, Liverpool’s whole cohort of senior centre-backs was wiped out.
Origi’s countryman Simon Mignolet also had a similar tale to tell. Mignolet left in 2019, not wanting to play second-fiddle to Alisson Becker any longer. Just days after he left for Club Brugge, Alisson was injured, with replacement Adrian starting the next nine Premier League games. Liverpool went on to win the title at a canter.
So, sometimes, you’re better of just staying put. Maybe Divock is now learning that the hard way, too. Still, we miss you big man. We look forward to our paths crossing again.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
