According to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Christian Benteke is trying too hard to find the back of the net right now.
The giant Belgian is our top scorer with seven goals in all competitions so far this season, but he’s recently found himself out of the Premier League side with the manager preferring Roberto Firmino in a false-9 role.
Benteke, who cost £32.5m in the summer, played against Exeter in the FA Cup last time out – and got mixed reviews for his performance.
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He was involved in two of the goals, assisting Joao Teixeira’s beautifully – but he missed some easy headers, another sitter of a one-on-one, and failed to gamble at the near post when the ball was wide.
“Everyone could see he was involved in three goals, third goal, really good pass, first goal perfect play,” Klopp began, cited by the Echo.
“Sometimes he tries too hard, but he stayed cool and everybody could see he knows where the goal is.
“You need a striker who makes a goal, but you cannot wait for him to come. I have seen him playing like this, holding the ball up for the team, and we have to work hard for him to do this.”
Klopp recently described Benteke as ‘the complete striker’, via the Echo, but the fact he’s not selecting him in his first-choice Premier League XIs, even in Daniel Sturridge’s absence – speaks volumes.
The forward has so far proven static and unable to provide us the necessary movement in the final third.
Will he be able to adapt himself to our needs? Time will tell, but if the manager is behind him – we should be also.