Reports have begun discussing surprise interest from Manchester United in a Liverpool player after Jurgen Klopp’s team beat rivals Everton 2-0 on Monday night.
Klopp was looking for a response after Liverpool lost 3-0 to Wolves at Molineux in their last outing. And that is exactly what he got, with the Reds picking up a comfortable victory over Everton.
Everton almost took the lead in the 36th minute when James Tarkowski headed onto the post from an Alex Iwobi corner. But it was Liverpool who struck first, as they caught the visitors on the counter. Darwin Nunez raced down the left flank and put the ball into a dangerous area, from which Mo Salah was able to finish first-time past Jordan Pickford, with the Everton goalkeeper in no man’s land.
Liverpool doubled their advantage after the break with a sweeping move started off by Andy Robertson. The ball eventually found Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right. He picked out Cody Gakpo at the back post, allowing the January signing to tap home his first Liverpool goal.
More chances fell to Nunez and Salah for Liverpool. Tom Davies, meanwhile, should have pulled one back for Everton when he headed over the bar from an Iwobi cross.
But the match ended 2-0 and it saw Liverpool finally get their first Premier League win in 2023. They are now on 32 points and have moved up into ninth place.
18-year-old midfielder Stefan Bajcetic was one of the standout performers for the home side. He helped Liverpool to dominate the midfield and also showed off a range of passing which belied his years.
Bajcetic was so good that BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty labelled his performance ‘complete’. Klopp, meanwhile, sung the praises of the starlet during a post-match interview.
Man Utd wanted midfielder before Liverpool move
Following the youngster’s top-class display against Everton, reports are now emerging which detail Man Utd’s interest in Bajcetic. The original source is The Athletic, who state that Man Utd were hoping to capture Bajcetic before his move to Liverpool in December 2020. SPORTbible pick up the report and discuss how Liverpool convinced the Spain U19 international to join them over Man Utd.
Reds officials told Bajcetic and his entourage that there was a better path to the first team at Anfield than there was at Old Trafford. Bajcetic will be delighted with how much senior game time he is picking up at Liverpool. Although, we will never know how well he would have done at Man Utd.
What is clear is that after signing him for just £250,000, Liverpool have picked up a steal. Bajcetic could be essential in revitalising the ageing Liverpool midfield over the next few seasons.
He could become an eventual successor to Thiago in Klopp’s starting eleven. He will certainly be learning a lot from Thiago in Liverpool training.
Bajcetic is on his way to becoming a top Premier League performer. And if Jude Bellingham joins Liverpool from Borussia Dortmund this summer, then Klopp could have a top midfield partnership on his hands.
