Ruud Gullit revealed that he was far from impressed with Emre Can’s performance for Liverpool in their victory over Swansea City on Sunday.
Watch more brilliant snippets like this with fanatix’s FREE sports video news app
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, the Dutchman was disappointed with the lack of invention that the midfielder showed as he was guilty of spending too much time in his own half and trading passes with the two central defenders.
Gullit insisted that Can should have done more with regards to building play and getting into a position where he made the visitors think more and disrupted their shape and rhythm which in turn could have led to Jurgen Klopp’s side creating more chances.
Instead, the home side were slow and methodical in their build-up play and had just two shots on target throughout the game before eking out a closely-fought 1-0 win thanks to a James Milner penalty.
While that also lifted them up to sixth place in the Premier League table and they welcomed back Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson from injury, it wasn’t all positive for Klopp based on their performance.
Admittedly, Lucas Leiva makes a significant difference to the midfield dynamic as his ability on the ball in front of the defence ordinarily allows Can more freedom to roam forward, and that duo worked well together in the 4-1 win over Manchester City a week ago.
As a result, the Brazilian’s return could be crucial for Can to get back to that level of performance, although Klopp will have decisions to make on who will get into the starting line-up with Milner and Henderson also in contention along with Philippe Coutinho in a more advanced role.
COMMENTS