Doak becomes instant crowd favourite
As early birthday presents go, this was quite the evening for Ben Doak.
The teenager winger, who turns 17 on Friday, has enjoyed a swift elevation through the ranks since arriving from Celtic in the summer, starting in the U18s, then starring with the U19s in the UEFA Youth League and already a Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy goalscorer with the U21s.
As the clock ticked on to the 74th minute here, Doak’s moment arrived as he was introduced for Fabio Carvalho. And anyone who has witnessed the young Scot tear through opposing defences at the Academy will have known exactly what to expect.
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Within moments, Doak was bursting his way beyond defenders and into the penalty area, only to hurriedly shoot into the Kop. The home fans, though, had already been won over, roaring their approval whenever the youngster subsequently gained possession.
A willingness to take on opponents will always make Doak a crowd favourite. But what impressed even more was his composure, physical prowess and maturity in possession. Even on this brief outing, it’s clear he isn’t just a head-down merchant.
Indeed, such was his confidence, it would be no surprise to discover Doak offered to take a penalty in the decisive shoot-out. And one thing is definite - this won’t be the last Anfield sees of him this season.
Ramsay out of the shadows as Ox sends reminder
For good reason has Calvin Ramsay gone under the radar compared to Liverpool’s other summer signings.
While the buzz, good or otherwise, has centred around Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Arthur Melo, teenage right-back Ramsay, recovering from an injury first highlighted during his medical, has largely been out of sight, out of mind.
But after two encouraging performances with the U21s and a brief outing in the Champions League last week, the 19-year-old was finally given a chance to become more than mere curiosity for supporters.
This, then, was a decent introduction. Athletic and confident on the ball, Ramsay also demonstrated a healthy appetite to defend and wasn’t deterred by the awkwardness of an occasionally robust Derby attacking approach.
There are inevitably rough edges that need to be smoothed, but there was sufficient evidence Liverpool’s pursuit of his signature from Aberdeen could prove an astute long-term investment, not least offering Trent Alexander-Arnold an occasional rest.
Elsewhere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain benefited most of the fringe players from minutes after a campaign decimated by a hamstring injury.
While out of contract next summer, the midfielder will still be utilised by Klopp. And the forthcoming rest and training camp could sharpen Oxlade-Chamberlain’s senses and make him a useful option in the second half of the season.
Stewart reaches high after overcoming major low
Anyone listening carefully to Pep Lijnders on Tuesday should have expected the curveball thrown by Jurgen Klopp in his Liverpool starting line-up.
“We're going to see Scousers hopefully,” said the Reds assistant manager. “Imagine a Scouser scoring in front of the Kop again!”
Homegrown striker Layton Stewart was the player to which Lijnders was subtly hinting, the 20-year-old following a path trodden by Kaide Gordon and Harvey Blair last season in being a surprise League Cup inclusion, joining fellow youngsters Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark.
While that midfield duo already have first-team experience, Stewart has had to wait for his chance. At the Academy since the age of seven, he had just broken into the under-23s when he suffered an ACL injury in March 2021 that sidelined him for more than a year.
Surrounded by such a makeshift team here, it was always going to be a big ask for Stewart to find that Kop goal. There was an opening at the other end, initiated by his own earlier interception of a wayward Derby pass, that he struck over, but otherwise the first half was tough going.
Encouragingly, the forward was undaunted by his task and put himself about before being replaced midway through the second half. From the low of 20 months ago, this was a major high in Stewart’s fledgling career.
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