da fazobetai： “Sturridge looks even better than before! Partly because I’ve been watching Benteke for the last 6 months,” was an extremely popular tweet during Liverpool’s crushing of Aston Villa on Sunday.
da heads bet： And it’s true – things have gone from bad to worse for Christian Benteke at Liverpool this season after so much was expected of the powerful Belgian.
He’s gone over 650 minutes without scoring, and that includes 180 minutes against League Two Exeter City in the FA Cup.
That says it all really, but the problems begun for Benteke extremely early on this season.
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Expectation plays a huge part in the former Villa man’s humbling demise. The 6” 3” powerhouse was once one of the Premier League’s most feared strikers and he single-handedly saved Aston Villa from the drop season after season, after joining them from Belgian side Genk.
He is also the second-most expensive signing in the club’s history. When you look at some of the players that have graced the Anfield turf over the years, there is significant pressure to fill the boots.
If Liverpool sell Benteke this summer, as many expect them to do so, it’s expected that someone will be able to get the best out of him again as he just doesn’t suit Liverpool’s style of play.
That isn’t arguably his or Jurgen Klopp’s fault.
But you can see in the game against Villa that Daniel Sturridge offers the team so much more in terms of fluid attacking play. Sturridge is the sort of player that runs with pace at defenders, is good in the air and only needs a yard to create a chance.
Benteke lumbers into positions and sometimes does this unknowingly – failing to match the sort of ability and positional awareness someone like Sturridge offers.
The failure of Andy Carroll overshadowed the move in the first place but few would have predicted Benteke’s form may have been even worse than the now West Ham man. Brendan Rodgers had no answer for the 25-year-old, and Jurgen Klopp is seemingly struggling too.
Roberto Firmino’s run as striker in the squad has made things a whole thing worse for Benteke, too. The Brazilian isn’t a striker and his selection only goes to show how bad things have gotten for the Belgian.
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Benteke played a total of just 39 minutes in Liverpool’s best three performances of the season – the 3-1 win at Chelsea, the 4-1 dismantling of Manchester City and the 6-1 triumph over Southampton. That says it all really – the number 9 just doesn’t fit into Klopp’s high-intensity style of play.
When Daniel Sturridge was substituted on the hour against Villa, on came Divock Origi, who scored after just 10 seconds of being introduced.
Even Benteke couldn’t get on the scoresheet as his teammates ran riot.
So as he returned to Villa Park on the substitute’s bench, his first thought will have been what could have been. Perhaps his move to Anfield was always destined to fail.
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