The Mirror sports writer believes that the Belgian needs to do much more in order to be fully implemented into Liverpool's style of play
Jamie Carragher is clearly a hard man to please.
On Wednesday night Christian Benteke scored the winner as Liverpool beat Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light.
It was his second winner for the Reds in just four days, after he came off the bench to net the key goal in the Boxing Day home win over Leicester City.
His strike against Sunderland was his sixth Premier League goal since his £32.5m summer move from Aston Villa.
And yet in his Sky Sports analysis of the match, Carra described the Belgian as “a problem” for Jurgen Klopp.
“When Klopp came in, Origi started his first game at Spurs and we highlighted the work he put in,” said Carragher.
“That’s what Klopp wants – we know that from Dortmund – and Benteke is not that type of player. He gives Klopp a problem in that he is the one goalscorer they have.
“He wants more from him, more movement, but the problem is nobody else in the squad scores goals.
“It’s Liverpool’s problem how they use him and get the best from him. With a powerful centre-forward you have to get the ball into his feet.”
And despite scoring the winning goal in two successive matches, Benteke proved Carragher’s point in the Reds’ 2-0 defeat at West Ham on Saturday.
In that match, the contrast with another former £30m+ Liverpool target man was stark.
Match special: 17/2 – Christian Benteke to score first in a Liverpool win
Benteke failed to score, constantly lost out in his aerial battles with West Ham’s James Collins, and failed to register a single shot on target. He also ran less than any other outfield player who played the full 90 minutes.
Meanwhile Andy Carroll fared much better in his duels with the Liverpool back line – winning nine of 15 headers compared to Benteke’s two of 13 – hit all five of his shots on target, and of course, scored the winner.
So not only did Benteke fail to score – he failed to do much else. It is an issue Klopp himself has highlighted, even when the striker does score.
“We need his goals but I don’t only think about him and goals,” the German said after beating Leicester.
“We are not a team that can play with a striker who scores a goal but is not involved in the game for the other 89 minutes. We need the striker for the other options, too – to work for the other minutes.”
Contrast the West Ham defeat with Liverpool’s League Cup win at Southampton in early December, when the fluid movement of Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi helped the Reds thrash the Saints 6-1 – with Sturridge getting a brace and Origi a hat-trick – and it’s clear to see Klopp’s vision of how he wants his team to play.
The big question is, can Benteke adapt his style of play to fit in with what his new boss wants?
It is probably Klopp’s biggest challenge to make sure he can.
After all, with Mario Balotelli still on the books, the last thing Liverpool need is another expensive and unwanted ‘star’ striker taking up valuable space on the wage bill.
