Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on Nottingham Forest defender Moussa Niakhate. The Reds defender starred yesterday as Klopp’s team defeated Forest 3-2 at Anfield.
The 27-year-old defender has recently made a return to first-team action. He spent eight months on the sidelines with a hamstring problem but has returned for the run-in.
Yesterday, he kept his place in the team, with Felipe and Scott McKenna joining him in a back three. The Reds kept a clean sheet in the first half, with Joe Worrall replacing McKenna with the Scot picking up another injury.
Klopp has explained in the aftermath of the game that he knew all about Niakhate. The Reds defender has showcased a long throw in recent weeks and he tormented Liverpool with it yesterday.
After the game, Klopp used his interview with Liverpool’s official website to rave about the Forest man. He believed that the Reds troubled his team with their play from throw-ins and praised Forest for it.
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He said: We knew about the threat: when Niakhate has the ball and throws it into the box. The first ball we could have defended better, I think Ibou was a bit too much in a fight with whoever was around him, but how we dealt with the second, third and fourth ball was not even close to good enough.”
Forest signed Niakhate from Mainz in the summer for around £13 million. The player captained the Bundesliga outfit for 18 months and his leadership qualities could be called upon in the final six games.
Klopp has heaped praise on Forest star Niakhate
Niakhate does have this weapon within his arsenal. The throw-ins wreaked havoc yesterday at Anfield and Forest will hope to score more goals from these situations.
Now, the Reds need to start putting some points on the board, however. Performances are great but Forest can’t delay in their quest to start winning football matches and attempt to stay in the Premier League.
Niakhate will have a big say in Forest’s push towards survival. His defending will obviously be very important but his long throws into the box can also prove very useful in the coming weeks.