Jurgen Klopp has praised Khvicha Kvaratskhelia after the Napoli winger produced an exciting performance against Liverpool.
Liverpool were back in action on Tuesday night as they hosted Napoli in the Champions League.
The Reds needed a result after losing to Leeds United on Saturday night and they produced a late show to claim a 2-0 win.
Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez scored close-range goals to give Liverpool all three points at Anfield.
Liverpool finish second in Group A, level on points with Napoli but missing out on top spot through goal difference.
Jurgen Klopp has praised Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
This game gave Liverpool fans a chance to see Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in action.
The Georgian winger has become a sensation at Napoli following his summer arrival.
Kvaratskhelia has already bagged eight goals and eight assists in 17 appearances this season.
Affectionately known as ‘Kvaradona’, the 21-year-old looks set to become a superstar in the coming years.
Kvaratskhelia featured on the left wing for Napoli against Liverpool, meaning he came up against Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Napoli star racked up five shots, one on target, one key pass and three successful dribbles in an exciting display.
After the final whistle, Klopp was quoted by Liverpool’s official website as saying that
“He’s a good player,” said Klopp. “Both are good players, so it’s a really difficult one. I know people will talk about one or two situations when Trent tried to be in front of him and the ball goes through. But he is really good, the boy, and really quick and you have to defend him together in these moments.”
“When he has the advantage of the first movement then he is already gone. You have to try to be there in the moment when the ball arrives, but if you cannot do that then you need to be protected because he has speed, he is cheeky, he goes inside, he can go outside, that makes it always really difficult.”
“A good player and I thought Trent played a really good game against him, he was really on fire, he was really in, didn’t get frustrated by one or two situations where he was second-best, stayed in the game and I liked Trent’s game tonight,” he added.
Does this feel at all familiar to anybody else?
This feels similar to when Klopp praised Darwin Nunez earlier this year, first calling the striker a ‘top, top boy’ before Liverpool faced Benfica.
Klopp also called Nunez ‘good, really good’, similar to the praise he has now offered up to Kvaratskhelia.
Liverpool ended up signing Nunez from Benfica in a big-money deal and some will wonder if Kvaratskhelia will end up heading to Anfield too.
Calciomercato reported in October that Liverpool are interested in signing Kvaratskhelia, rivalling Manchester City.
Klopp’s comments will only strengthen those rumours and he may well follow in Nunez’s footsteps in the near future.
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