Off Topic Naby Keita -Long wait is over !

I agree. The physicality I was talking about is what you describe here ie him not being used to strong tackles from behind. It's also part and parcel of his desire to go forward, he's only looking one way. I like that if he is dispossessed, he does what he can to get the ball back.

 

Good thing I remember Lucas having a similar issue and he got over it until the ACL facked him up. It is great he has back to back goals. Only problem is I know he will not get to play the Chelsea game. I just hope he stays fit till end of the season.

 

Sadio Mane: The real Naby Keita is coming

Back-to-back goals are just the beginning of the 'real' Naby Keita, predicts Sadio Mane.
Keita opened his Liverpool account at Southampton last Friday and then set the Reds on course for a 2-0 Champions League win over FC Porto on Tuesday night at Anfield.
His fifth-minute breakthrough against the Portuguese side was the start of a hugely influential performance by the summer 2018 signing, who showed the range of his creative and defensive qualities.
But, according to Mane, there is still a lot more talent for his friend and teammate to express as he continues to settle at the club.
“It is going well for him and everyone is very happy,” Mane said of Keita.
“I just talked to him to do what I can to help but Naby is a big boy, so he knows how football can work and sometimes not. He knows that, so he is very positive and he knows he can do more. I am sure he can do more.
“We have a lot more to see from him and I am sure we will see it. I’m trying to help him and everyone in the team and the coach as well. It is not easy to move from Germany to change club, especially as the league is not the same.
“It is part of the things you have to deal with and he is working hard every single day. The real Naby is coming still. He played well the last two games. I know him very well and there is more to come.”

• Van Dijk salutes Keita's performance against Porto

The pair first crossed paths professionally at Red Bull Salzburg, when their spells at the Austrian club overlapped briefly in 2014.
And Keita’s experience there is indicative of how the midfielder can blossom over time, explains Mane.
“The first time he came to Salzburg, he was the same. He was not playing for a while but he was really positive and after he was the star of the team,” he added.
“It was very tough for him but he never stopped working hard. I am 100 per cent sure he will do incredibly well. He scored two goals and I think it boosts his confidence.”
https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/345531-sadio-mane-naby-keita-liverpool

 

Both goals took massive deflections, Keita looks totally lost in this league. He has the talent but seems to lack the bottle, where's this hard tackling mother ****er in midfield? I have hope for him but he's been poor, very poor (overall). Gerrard is probably thinking why the **** did I make all this effort and surprise him by giving the number 8.

I had high hopes, I still do, but he seriously needs to sort his head out.

 

i thought last game was easily the best overall game he has had for us and finally appears able to do

PS is it you or Luv who has a bet on the number of goals he gets next season ?

 

New country, new culture, new league, cut him some slack. Not all signings come out strong straight away. I like him. Never thought he was going to be a tough nut, he's tricky and that can be very effective. As for the deflections can't say it matters, he was in the right places at the right time, both were on target

 

And one or two spells out (remember the back injury from early in the season, European game I think)
Somebody mentioned it on here in the last few days, but receiving the ball facing his own goal is what he has to improve on.
But I think he has shown glimpses of the quality he possesses, we will see a better Keita as time goes on.

 

BBC pundit Noel Whelan has claimed that Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is going to go on and ‘smash it’ at Anfield.

The former RB Leipzig man has struggled to find consistent form since making the move from Germany last summer, but with two goals in his last two games, the signs are good that the Guinean is finally starting to find his feet.

Whelan, regularly heard on BBC Radio Leeds, highlighted the fact that Klopp had been clever with his use of Keita this season in order to help him adapt to his new environment.

Whelan has had his say: “He’s tended to have a good game followed by an average game, but Jurgen Klopp has managed him cleverly, which you need to do when a player is adapting to a new environment and way of playing,” he told Football Insider.

 

he can play Porto away though... two no 6s but need someone to break with forwards.

that's be 3 games in 4 for him.

 

Liverpool's signing of Naby Keita is finally paying off
https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/04/22/liverpools-signing-of-naby-keita-is-finally-paying-off/

 

Another solid display. His ability on the ball was never in question, but he’s massively improved off the ball in terms of positioning and tracking runners.

His pressing stats are nuts!

 

hopefully he will radically improve over the summer

 

Some players come in from abroad and catch up immediately some are not very good until their second year. Naby Keita is going to get better and better, credit to Klopp for using him wisely.

 

I never questioned his ability on or off the ball, it's his mental speed that's concerning

 

if it were mourinho hed have publically humiliated Keita then sold him in January.

that's the difference between a money manager out for today and a coach put to build something.