Jurgen Klopp says 30-year-old Liverpool player did something ‘special’ last night

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Jurgen Klopp has praised Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo for his goal-scoring performance last night.

Endo bagged his first goal for the Reds, diverting a lovely Trent Alexander-Arnold cross into the bottom corner with a superb header.

As one of the smallest players in the squad, the 30-year-old isn’t necessarily a player you’d expect to see nodding goals in. But speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Klopp said Endo’s prowess in the air shouldn’t be a surprise.

“I can imagine that people are surprised but I think in the air tonight he was really, really strong,” said the Liverpool manager.

“He scored incredible goals for Stuttgart around set pieces so I’m really happy that he could show that here.

“He had a really good game. Passing wise, how he broke the lines, found half spaces, really, really good. I’m very happy for him as well, the right players scored, that’s obviously something special for a 6. He did well, nice next step for him.”

Endo bags first Liverpool goal

It’s fair to say that this wasn’t the first time Endo has surprised Liverpool fans already. In fact, his very presence at the club is arguably still a shock in itself.

Nevertheless, the Japan captain has certainly made himself a few friends among his new fans. Last night he’ll have made a few more.

Although he has been chastised and often criticised by some small pockets of fans, Endo has actually had a really promising start to his Reds career.

He was always going to take time to settle in. The jump in quality of his teammates and the different style of Liverpool to Stuttgart wouldn’t be easy to navigate for many players.

But the Europa League is really giving Wataru a platform to grow in a Liverpool shirt.

Although he’s still only started one game in the Premier League, the No.3 has now played from the beginning in all three matches in Europe.

The impressive nature of his performance – and of course the goal – last night should give him confidence to kick on now.

We don’t expect to see him against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, at least from the start. But we’re looking forward to seeing Endo next midweek against Bournemouth.