Japan national team captain Wataru Endo has struggled to break out of a slump at Liverpool.
Liverpool won 2-1 against Crystal Palace in the 15th round of the 2023/24 English Premier League (EPL) season at Selhurst Park in London, England, on Monday (Sept. 9).
Despite being ahead on goal difference, Liverpool struggled against Palace. After being held scoreless in the first half, the Reds conceded a goal in the 12th minute to Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Liverpool struck first against Palace.
Luckily, the Reds managed to turn the game around. In the 31st minute of the second half, Liverpool’s ace Mohamed Salah equalized the game. In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, Harvey Elliott scored the winner. The game ended with a 2-1 win for Liverpool.
Against Palace, Endo formed a midfield alongside Ryan Hrabenberg and Dominik Soboslaj. An injury to Alexis Sanchez, who was playing defensive midfield, gave Endo a chance. Endo was back in the starting lineup after playing full time in the previous match against Sheffield United.
Playing as a defensive midfielder, Endo didn’t do much. He was subbed off at halftime for Joe Gomez. According to soccer stats site Sofascore, Endo completed 93% of his passes, won four ground battles, and forced seven turnovers in 45 minutes against Palace.
Local media also gave Endo a bad review of his performance. The Liverpool Echo, a local Liverpool newspaper, said of Endo: “At times he gave the ball away too easily. However, he did prevent Palace from winning a penalty when he was fouled.” The Liverpool Echo gave Endo a five-star rating 토토사이트. This was the second lowest rating after frontline striker Darwin Núñez (4).
As for saving a penalty, that happened in the 29th minute. In the 29th minute, Palace’s Will Hughes stole the ball from Endo and passed to an incoming Odsonne Edouard. Edouard was tripped by Virgil van Dijk and a penalty was awarded. However, the decision was overturned after VAR showed that Hughes had fouled Endo.
Endo joined Liverpool from Stuttgart for €20 million last summer. Despite being the captain of Japan’s national team, Endo has struggled at Liverpool. This season, he has three goals and one assist in 19 official games. Despite scoring three goals, he has only started four times in the league behind McAllister.