Former Liverpool striker Divock Origi opened his goalscoring account for AC Milan on Saturday evening, helping his new employers to a 4-1 win over Monza.
A fan-favourite during his time at Anfield, Origi left the Reds during the summer transfer window in search of regular game time but has had to remain patient for opportunities due to a mixture of injury issues and competition for places.
All of his eight appearances for the club prior to yesterday evening had come from the bench late on in matches, but the Belgian was trusted to lead the line and repaid the faith of his manager by finding the back of the net with a powerful strike from outside the area as well as grabbing an assist.
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Renowned for delivering in big moments at Liverpool, often as a substitute, Jurgen Klopp made clear just how highly he rated the 27-year-old after he struck late for the Reds to win away at Wolves last December.
"I told him when he came on it was his game. This kind of goal we see plenty of times, in training," said the Liverpool boss after the game. "Winning in the 95th minute is great but Div scoring it is even better. He has scored some of the most important goals in the history of this club.
"He’s an incredible striker, for different reasons he did not play that often but I hope one day he finds a manager that plays him more than I do. He’s one of the best finishers I’ve ever seen in my life. In this great team, with our [front] three, he doesn’t play all the time but he is a very positive boy, loves the club, wants to contribute and he did in an incredible way."
Such words were echoed by Milan manager Stefano Pioli on Saturday night, describing Origi as a 'complete striker' after watching his summer recruit get off the mark in Serie A.
“I think Divock is a great striker. He’s a complete forward because he can do it all," he explained. "We really missed him because Oli [Giroud] had to play a lot, which is tiring. He’s a complete striker: he moves well, he can drift wide or get in behind, and he’s also got the physicality to hold the ball up and win aerial duels. He’s a great player.
"We need these options with all the games that we have and every game matters right up to the end. It will really contribute to our standings in the Champions League and Serie A. We won it by two points last season and that’s how we should look at it.
"I’m really happy with his performance and I’m happy for him because he struggled with not being able to go out there and show what he can do and help the team because he arrived with an injury that he struggled to recover from. I’m happy for him and his performance will give us all more enthusiasm and hunger to do well.”
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