Liverpool striker Christian Benteke may have grabbed the winner as the Reds downed high flying Leicester City on Boxing Day, but the 25-year old was reminded just where he sits in the Anfield pecking order when he was once again overlooked for the starting eleven in favour of youngster Divock Origi.
“I spoke with the manager a few days ago about where I can improve and what he is expecting from me. We had a good conversation. We had like a ‘man conversation’ and I think it is going to help me and help the team,” said the Belgian hit-man following the win over the Foxes. “Of course I am still a young player and I want to learn. Sometimes when you are a little bit on the side you try to understand what the manager needs and what he wants and we had a very good chat,” explained Benteke before elaborating further. “I think I have to run more and I have to be there for my team-mates. You could see against Leicester that I showed I understand his message and now I have to keep going like that.”
The former Aston Villa man has hard a hard time adjusting to the high-octane, always running “gegenpress” style imployed by the former Borussia Dortmund boss which has lead pundit and punter alike to write off Benteke’s future at Anfield. While it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be able to adapt his game to fit what Jurgen Klopp is looking for, the German manager isn’t giving up on him quite yet and has been keen to let the 25-year old know just what he needs to do in order to be successful on Merseyside.
“We need his goals and he is a goal scorer no doubt, but I don’t only think about him and goals,” said the Reds boss of the Belgian striker. “We are not a team who can play with a striker who scores a goal but is not involved in the game for the other 89 minutes,” he continued, explaining that he’s looking for a player that’s willing to be involved in all aspects of the game. “We need the striker for the other options too, to work for the other minutes.”
