Few Liverpool players could come away from Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle with any kind of credit in the bank.
Despite Arne Slot ringing the changes at Home Park, the Reds should still have had enough to get past their Championship opponents.
Right from the early knockings of the game, though, Liverpool clearly weren’t at it.
Joe Gomez’s early injury did not help matters, and meant that Wataru Endo was forced to shift from central to midfield to centre-back.
This was arguably the turning point of the game, not because of Endo’s presence in a makeshift defence, but rather his absence from a lightweight midfield.
With James McConnell, Trey Nyoni and Harvey Elliott unable to get to grips with the game, Endo’s robust tackling could have made a real difference. But despite being moved back out of position, the Japanese was still comfortably Liverpool’s best player.
Wataru Endo stands out for Liverpool at Plymouth
Endo has once again been an impressive figure for Liverpool this season. Despite his lack of game time under Slot, the No.3 has turned up, grinded out and made himself into a cult hero.
Although Slot may have been surprised by the ability of Endo, it’s worth harking back to what Jurgen Klopp said about the £16m signing in March 2024.
“He is one of the hardest-working people that I have ever met,” Klopp said via Sky Sports. “His defensive brain is outstanding.”
Klopp’s words have been proven right many times over already, but Endo standing up to be counted when those around him failed so miserably to do so at Plymouth reinforced this feeling.
Thomas Hitzlsperger called Endo ‘super professional‘ recently and if anything proved that about him, it was Sunday’s stoic display.
Travelling with a young squad on his 32nd birthday, Endo could easily have switched off in the manner of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota or Kostas Tsimikas. But he kept going and kept fighting and showed exactly why his Liverpool squad needs him.
Endo gains more credit in the bank
Sunday was a chastening day for many Liverpool players. Federico Chiesa has been slammed by Steve Nicol, for example, while the likes of Tsimikas, Jota and Diaz may have shown to Slot that they should not be at Anfield next season.
But whatever happens, it’s clear that Endo is one who the Liverpool head coach can count on.
There have been whisperings that Endo could leave the club at the end of the season given his little gametime this term.
| Accurate Passes | Tackles Won | Blocks | Clearances | Duels Won | |
| Wataru Endo vs Plymouth | 98/109 | 2/2 | 1 | 7 | 9/14 |
However, now 32 and already seemingly accepting of his role with the Reds, Sunday’s performance showed more than ever why it would be a mistake to lose Endo. Klopp was questioned when he signed the Stuttgart man in 2023, but the legendary manager stuck to his guns.
“Look, I know how this football world works and I can see that in people’s eyes. The names were flying around and when they think, ‘OK, they have them, they have them, they have them’,” Klopp said at the time.
“Do me a favour, give us a second and let’s have a look. He’s really good and I’m really happy with that signing, I can’t say it differently. It’s a really good one.”
As usual, Jurgen was right.
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