Watching Alberto Moreno stride across the pitch with confidence and composure during Villarreal’s UEFA Super Cup clash with Chelsea last night, it’s clear to see why things didn’t work out at Anfield for the four-time Spain international.
Liverpool signed Moreno from Sevilla in 2014, not for his defensive abilities but for his swashbuckling, forward-thinking approach to full-back play.
But in the Premier League, defenders who can’t defend are soon found out.
And that’s the fate that befell a man who quickly went from cult hero to black sheep on the red half of Merseyside.
Moreno was labelled “absolute garbage” and nicknamed “Moron-o” by a seething Gary Neville during a fraught afternoon against Arsenal in 2016. Liverpool fans don’t care what Neville thinks but, nevertheless, the Spaniard was released by Liverpool at the end of the 2018-19 season.
But as Villarreal took Chelsea all the way to penalties in Dublin last night, a now 29-year-old Moreno produced the sort of performance reminiscent of his early days on the citrus-soaked streets of Seville.
Alberto Moreno looks a different player to the man who struggled at Liverpool
The diminutive wideman never felt like a natural fit for Jurgen Klopp’s four-man back line at Liverpool – Moreno was frequently caught out of position as he looked to join the attack at any given moment.
However, the always-savvy Unai Emery appears to have found a way to amplify his strengths while managing those weaknesses.
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Fielded as a left-winger rather than a left-back, Moreno was given the licence to push forward and drift into central areas with a more natural defender – Alfonso Pedraza or Pervis Estupinan – operating as a human safety net behind, covering his runs and giving their teammate the freedom he requires.
Moreno was a lick of paint away from finding the net too, hammering a volley off the underside of the bar following a trademark forward burst.
That, of course, isn’t to say Klopp got it wrong with Moreno. The Liverpool boss was never going to change his system to suit one player.
But, when used correctly, Moreno can be a useful attacking player rather than an accident waiting to happen.
Here’s what some Liverpool fans on Twitter had to say about Moreno’s performance last night:
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