Liverpool’s Ragnar Klavan endured a tough night as Estonia lost 8-1 to Belgium.
Belgium hammered Estonia 8-1 in Brussels on Sunday evening – and it was a tough night for Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan.
Roberto Martinez’s men raced into a 3-0 lead inside 25 minutes as Thomas Meunier headed home Yannick Ferreira Carrasco’s cross, Dries Mertens’ long-range strike was deflected in by Klavan, and Eden Hazard thumped home when played in on goal.
Belgium players celebrate against Estonia
Henri Anier did pull one back for Estonia to make it 3-1, but Carrasco got himself on the scoresheet, Klavan put through his own net and Mertens pulled off a delightful chip for 6-1, and Everton star Romelu Lukaku compounded Estonia’s misery with two late goals.
Belgium were completely dominant throughout, and the result leaves them top of Group H in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers with four wins from four games and a +20 goal difference.
Liverpool’s Ragnar Klavan celebrates with manager Juergen Klopp
However, for Estonia, it was a night to forget, and even their star man and captain Klavan struggled in a nightmare performance from the Liverpool defender.
Klavan, 31, joined Liverpool from Augsburg over the summer, and whilst he started the season as Dejan Lovren’s centre back partner, Joel Matip has recently taken his place, leaving Klavan as Jurgen Klopp’s third-choice central defender.
Estonia’s Ragnar Klavan
Klavan has only played 90 minutes of action since the end of September, and that rust was clear as he was given the runaround by the Belgium defence, and his display against Everton striker Lukaku won’t give Reds fans much confidence.
During and after the game, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to discuss Klavan’s performance, with supporters noting that he endured a nightmare evening in Belgium, with some left wondering why Liverpool even signed him.
Some compared his performance to Martin Skrtel’s displays, and whilst others were sympathetic towards him given that his Estonian team-mates did little to help him, fans didn’t want to see Klavan go up against Lukaku again in the Merseyside derby in December.
What did you think of Klavan’s performance against Belgium?
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