Bajcetic's quiet progress gathers more momentum
While Liverpool supporters have spent the mid-season break seemingly obsessing over one teenage midfielder in the shape of Jude Bellingham, another already at the club is quietly continuing to make his name.
It would be wholly disingenuous to describe Stefan Bajcetic as 'like a new signing' and given the depth of fan-feeling around the need to bolster the engine room in the January transfer window, to suggest that with any seriousness would risk the wrath of many. Try dropping that one on social media!
All Bellingham-lust aside, though, Bajcetic is another who supporters might just be starting to get a little more excited about. Having already featured for Jurgen Klopp's side on five occasions this term, he has continued to gently ease himself into the first-team picture out in Dubai.
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With the low-slung socks and maturity in possession, it's hard to believe Bacjetic only turned 18 a little over six weeks ago. This was another encouraging cameo as he goes about slotting himself in the Liverpool senior squad on a regular basis going forward.
The Serbian-born Spanish youth international is not quite on the cusp of becoming a household name at Anfield but his encouraging campaign has only been furthered out in Dubai where he featured in what was a generally assertive first-half performance in this 3-1 defeat to Lyon.
It was telling that when Klopp opted to pick his big guns from the start at the Al Maktoum Stadium, Bajectic was part of the pack, operating in a midfield trio alongside Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliott.
Bajcetic once again combined his tigerish love of a tackle with measured composure on the ball, constantly keeping Liverpool on the front foot with sensible passes. It was anything but elaborate, but it didn't need to be. With his more established team-mates able to do the fancy stuff, the 18-year-old's first-half was, like all the finest defensive screeners, simple and effective.
Harshly booked for a well-timed challenge on Corentin Tolisso, he also showed he's no respecter of reputations when he flew into the tackle to whip the ball away from the former Bayern Munich star before referee Ahmed Essa Mohamed strangely brandished the yellow.
This was another firm foot forward for the teenage midfielder - just don't suggest Bajcetic can be like a 'new signing' going forward.
Salah's star rises in the east
There were no prizes for guessing who the star of the show was at the Al Maktoum Stadium.
As Liverpool made their way out for the pre-match warm-up, it was, of course, Mohamed Salah who garnered the most attention from the mix of local and expat fans inside the 15,000-seater stadium.
Salah was once again the subject of terrace affection when he arrived for kick-off before every touch was greeted with large-scale swooning from those desperate to see their hero do what he usually does at Anfield.
After over five years of glittering and trophy-laden success - both personally and collectively at Liverpool - the man so affectionately known as the 'Egyptian King' is a global icon, adored by millions of Reds supporters and general football lovers of neural persuasion. So it was no surprise to him cast early on as the headline act here.
After Fabio Carvalho had opened the scoring inside 40 seconds in a move that featured Salah, a wonderful, sweeping attack that was orchestrated by Liverpool's No.11 ended with Roberto Firmino being upended inside the penalty area.
Sadly, for most of the 14,851 at the ground, Salah spurned the chance to send them all home happy when his penalty was saved by Anthony Lopes. But it didn't really matter. It was even inconsequential that Liverpool lost the game and the penalty shootout that the peculiar format of the Dubai Super Cup insists must happen, regardless of the result in 90 minutes. All of that was irrelevant to them, really.
No, what mattered was that they got to see Salah in the flesh, strutting his stuff in Liverpool red. They will get the chance to do so again on Friday when the Reds meet AC Milan in the second of their mid-season fixtures here in the Emirates.
Expect Salah to once more be the man they all flock to see.
Commanding Matip read to kick on
If the weekend's World Cup action was a contrast of fortunes for Liverpool centre-backs, Joel Matip's commanding comeback was a welcome one.
While Virgil van Dijk is set for a week off after Netherlands' World Cup exit to Argentina, Ibrahima Konate's Qatar campaign rolls on as France get set for the semi-final.
Meanwhile, away from the hullabaloo of events in Doha, Matip has spent the last week working on his return to action. Having not featured since he was withdrawn through injury in the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in early October, the Dubai trip is an opportune time to reassert himself on this Liverpool squad.
"We did everything in training and there was one session when we got advice to rest him a little bit, but it was not from him, it was the medical department, so that is what we did," Klopp said when asked about Matip's return after the game.
"Apart from that, we did everything and he looked good today. His 45 minutes was, again, what we were allowed to use him for and that is what we did. It's good."
In a season of disruption for so many at Liverpool given their horrendous injury luck this term, Matip has inevitably been caught up in the maelstrom. The one-time Cameroon centre-back has never been the most durable but his quality when on the pitch is not in dispute.
He coasted through his first 45 minutes in over two months, ensuring alongside Joe Gomez that Lyon's front two of Moussa Dembele and Alexandre Lacazette barely got a kick. At least prior to the mix-up between Andy Robertson and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher that gifted the French their leveller that was.
This was a hugely encouraging performance from Matip but the hard work is only just beginning for the ex-Schalke man as he aims to stay fit, continue to perform and eventually re-establish himself as first choice in Klopp's defence.
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