Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised Xherdan Shaqiri for his performance against Everton.
The Swiss international made his first start for the Reds since that magical night at Anfield on May 7 and scored their second goal in an eventual 5-2 win. Shaqiri’s goal was his first in almost a year with his last one coming on Boxing Day 2018 against Newcastle.
Klopp praised and Shaqiri and apologised to him for not playing him too often. Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, the Reds manager said: “[Seven months] really? Sorry Shaq! He was injured a couple of times. If he could have scored two goals like Divock instead of one, I could say exactly the same [as I said about Origi]. He looked completely fresh, he looked strong, physically strong, so it is important players train after they get injured.
“He had twice this calf thing this season, so there was not a lot to change but I think he has been back in training for two or three weeks now completely normal. He understood the situation, that’s how it is in a squad when you win a lot of games, you don’t make 20 changes.”
Shaqiri has now featured in only five matches for Liverpool this season but with the fixtures piling up, we could see him feature more frequently provided he maintains his fitness.
The Reds maintain their unbeaten run and now have 43 points from 15 matches so far and are still eight points ahead of Leicester City at the top of the Premier League table.
Liverpool next play Bournemouth at Dean Court before traveling to Austria for their final Champions League group game against Red Bull Salzburg.
