Liverpool returned to winning ways on Wednesday night with a well-earned 3-0 victory against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
Divock Oirigi continued his rich vein of form by scoring his fifth goal in as many games, either side of efforts from the in-form Adam Lallana.
The 28-year-old has been a player reborn under manager Jürgen Klopp, scoring and assisting at a rate that right now is threatening to dwarf anything he has produced in the Premier League so far.
He scored twice at the Riverside (adding to his opener in the 2-2 draw against West Ham last Sunday) and with each passing week is further underlining his importance to Liverpool, which is shown to even greater effect when he misses out through injury.
He may not have seen as much of the ball as teammate Jordan Henderson in midfield (83 touches compared to the captain’s 126), but when he did have the ball he used it to devastating effect as the stats from Squawka below show:
Adam Lallana’s game by numbers:
85% pass accuracy
3 shots
2 goals
1 assistNew man under Klopp pic.twitter.com/x7IGLo29Ca
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 14, 2016
Both of his goals came about after good work from his teammates, but Lallana still knew when to make the run itno the box to finish off his chances. Evidently that is something that both he and Klopp had worked on, as the manager said afterwards that the the attacker had become somewhat downbeat last season regarding his low scoring rate.
Klopp: “Last year I sat Adam Lallana down. I was happy with him but he was like ‘I’m not scoring’. I said he wasn’t in the right positions.”
— Anfield HQ (@AnfieldHQ) December 14, 2016
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Menawhile, his assist for Origi was the culmination of a terrific team move, particularly from Gini Wijnaldum and Sadio Mané picked up by the England international and slotted through to the forward to beat Victor Valdés in the Middlesbrough goal.
Build-up phase for Origi’s goal last night was superb. What a goal. #LFC pic.twitter.com/3CTr1kNNV4
— Ryan Taylor (@CoveringEurope) December 15, 2016
Prominent users of social media were lining up to heap praise on Lallana after what was another terrific performance in midfield from the former Southampton man:
Your #MIDLIV @carlsberg Man of the Match…
Adam Lallana ? pic.twitter.com/8jS3CiLYTF
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 14, 2016
No Englishman playing better than Adam Lallana in @premierleague right now & very few of the foreign ones also! #LFC
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) December 14, 2016
MOTM Lallana scores the 3rd for the Reds. Not just the goals, he helped midfield to build up and ran to help Milner every time ? !!
— Luis Garcia (@LuchoGarcia14) December 14, 2016
Adam Lallana in 12 starts from central midfield this season:
6 goals ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
6 assists ➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️#UNDERRATED ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5QtFwFJ6A2— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) December 14, 2016
Adam Lallana was magnificent tonight. He’s now the best English player without a doubt. Unbelievable turnaround at LFC.
— Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) December 14, 2016
Adam Lallana is one of the Premier League players of the season so far. Can anyone remember such a turnaround from a player?
— Joseph Musker (@Musker_LFC) December 15, 2016
Adam Lallana been a revelation this season; argument for saying he is perhaps the most influential player in Jurgen Klopp’s plans.
— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) December 14, 2016
Adam Lallana has been reborn under Klopp. What he lacked before was consistent performances, well he’s been consistently brilliant lately. pic.twitter.com/AAItmcJpRi
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) December 14, 2016
Lallana will be looking to take his exceptional form to Goodison Park next Monday, as Liverpool face Everton in a massive Mrseyside derby.
Read More About: adam lallana, divock origi, jurgen klopp, Liverpool, middlesbrough, Premier League, Roberto Firmino, sadio mane
