Brad Friedel feels Takumi Minamino ‘proves himself’ with each Liverpool appearance after scoring two against Norwich City in the FA Cup, speaking on Sky Sports News (3/3, 10:24).
Minamino sent the Reds into the quarter-final of the competition on Wednesday night with a brace at Anfield. The 27-year-old fired home two powerful strikes in the first-half to build what proved to be an unassailable lead. Despite Lukas Rupp threatening a late comeback.
The Japan dynamo broke the deadlock in the 27th-minute on Merseyside before adding his second 12-minutes later. Minamino first blasting home after Divock Origi turned on Kostas Tsimikas’ cross to the far post. He then fired again with a clinical hit into the roof of the net.
Minamino left Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in awe with his efforts to beat Norwich in the FA Cup. The German hailed the display as one of the £7.25m star’s best performances for the Reds since joining in 2020. He also now has nine goals and an assist in 22 games this term.
Friedel feels Minamino ‘proves himself’ with each Liverpool game
Klopp is not alone in lauding Minamino for his performance as Liverpool beat Norwich and reached the FA Cup quarter-final. Friedel also praises the former RB Salzburg star and feels he showcases his potential with each game for the Merseyside outfit, however infrequent.
“I think he proves himself each and every time he plays,” Friedel said. “I think he’s just in a team that’s full of exciting attacking players, I don’t think he’s not in the starting eleven because he’s a poor player. That’s not the truth.
“It’s just they have such an array of attacking talent and they have arguably the best player in the world right now in Salah… So, watching Minamino play and see him getting the goals is great to see. Do I think that puts him in the team? No.
“Do I think Jurgen Klopp thinks he’s an outstanding player? Yes. So, we’ll just have to see if he can keep continuing to impress him and to see if he can overtake one of the others that play in front of him on a regular basis.”
Norwich marked Minamino’s 22nd outing this term, but he has only started for Liverpool in eight games across all competitions. Four of those starts also came in the Carabao Cup, yet he did not play in the final against Chelsea. Two have also been in three FA Cup ties so far.
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