Liverpool emphatically ended the mini-quandary arising from two meek performances against Luton Town and Toulouse respectively with a statement Anfield victory over Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Jurgen Klopp revamped his midfield during the summer after the 2022/23 campaign yielded rotten results, and despite the industrial scale transfer work the seamless integration has been noted.
Finishing fifth last season and consequently missing out on the Champions League this year, Liverpool have been plying their trade in the Europa League, and while they top Group E after four matches, a chastening 3-2 defeat to Toulouse last week showed startling signs of last season's spiritlessness.
It's perhaps understandable that there will be bumps in the road, and given that the Reds are just one point behind league leaders Manchester City heading into the third international break of the term, there is cautious optimism that results can be sustained to mount another challenge for the title under Klopp's leadership.
And while the 3-0 win over Brentford was an impressive show of strength on home soil – maintaining the 100% record at Anfield since the summer – there were still areas for improvement that the club's German manager will seek to iron out over the coming period.
In fairness, there were multiple absences in midfield – Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones joined Spanish duo Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic in the injury room, while Alexis Mac Allister missed out due to suspension – which meant Wataru Endo's way was paved for a second Premier League start of the season, despite flattering to deceive in midweek.
Wataru Endo's game vs Brentford by numbers
Endo has been a bit of a mixed bag since arriving from Stuttgart for £16m in the summer, signed after the Reds failed to secure both Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, who both opted to join Chelsea.
Due to the lack of options last weekend, Klopp handed the Japan star a starting berth and while he didn't struggle, per se, his lack of authority in defensive moments was clear to see.
As per Sofascore, the 30-year-old took 67 touches from the centre of the park, completing 86% of his passes and making four clearances to stifle Brentford's advances on the counter, but he won only one of his nine ground duels and did not evoke the confidence that a defensive midfielder should for a side of Liverpool's calibre, winning just one tackle and also being dribbled past twice.
Statistic
#
Appearances
7
Starts
2
Pass completion
86%
Key passes per game
0.0
Tackles per game
0.6
Recoveries per game
1.6
Interceptions per game
0.1
Clearances per game
1.1
Ground duels won
28%
*Sourced via Sofascore
Against TSC on Thursday night, Endo won none of his five contested ground duels, and for all his composure and industriousness it is clear why Klopp opts not to start him on the big occasions.
Cody Gakpo's performance vs Brentford
With multiple absences, Cody Gakpo was also placed in midfield, having started there across the opening two matches of the Premier League campaign against Chelsea and Bournemouth, struggling on both occasions.
Against Thomas Frank's Bees, he impressed in instances and demonstrated some of the attributes that prompted Klopp to recognise his worth in the middle, but he failed to influence the play as he would in an offensive position and should not be unleashed from deep when other options are at Klopp's disposal.
Testing Mark Flekken with a stinging shot in the first half, Gakpo was crisp in possession, energetic and hard-working, but once again he proved that his deployment in the position must be used as a last resort.
Indeed, despite completing 91% of his passes, winning four ground duels (44%) and succeeding with two dribbles, Gakpo failed to make a single key pass and only took 46 touches.
For comparison, Dominik Szoboszlai took 73 touches and completed two key passes, always looking a threat and starting promising passages of play.
Goal's Mark Doyle handed the Dutchman a 6/10 match rating despite the big win, writing: 'Once again started in midfield because of Liverpool's injury issues but while he worked hard, and had a couple of efforts from distance, he was once again largely ineffective in a deeper role. Subbed late on.'
While it was no detriment to the win, Klopp will no doubt be happy that key personnel in the middle will be back for the daunting trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City in two weeks.
Where Cody Gakpo fits in at Liverpool
Gakpo perhaps gets a bit too much stick. He hasn't proved to be the most clinical of forces since completing a £35m transfer to the Anfield side last winter, but he's technically proficient and intelligent both in possession and without the ball.
With the likes of Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah wreaking havoc through their clinical exploits, might the £120k-per-week Gakpo's work be going under the radar?
He has scored four goals and supplied an assist from nine starts across all competitions this season, and, as per FBref, the dynamo also ranks among the top 20% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 7% for progressive passes, the top 18% for progressive carries and successful take-ons, the top 1% for tackles and the top 8% for blocks per 90.
Once hailed as "something special" by Fabrizio Romano, the all-encompassing nature of his craft welcomes space and success for other attack-centric peers, but his best qualities have been negated on both occasions he has been fielded in the centre of the park this year.
Of course, Liverpool's list of midfield absentees last weekend precluded the possibility of easy squad selection, but with Harvey Elliott replacing the 19-cap international in the 83rd minute, there's an argument there that Klopp unleashed the wrong man in the centre.
Such claims could be thrown into the realm of the pedantic; Liverpool won, convincingly, against a disciplined team that was riding a three-match Premier League win streak, but it's something that Klopp will consider going forward.
