We take a look at how Liverpool’s loaned men fared for their current clubs this week, with a good—if unproductive—amount of action for the loanees.
Andre Wisdom made his third appearance in a row for Norwich City in their dreadful 3-0 loss against Sunderland on Saturday, turning into an afternoon to forget for the Reds defender.
Continuing at right-back, the 22-year-old struggled at Carrow Road, where he gave away a first-half penalty with a late, rash challenge on ex-Reds team-mate Fabio Borini, who himself stepped up to convert the spot-kick, putting the Mackems 1-0 up.
Andre Wisdom's game by numbers vs. Sunderland:
6 failed crosses
3 goals conceded
1 penalty foul
0 interceptions pic.twitter.com/PJebVUeob0— Squawka (@Squawka) April 16, 2016
It was a crucial moment in the relegation six-pointer with confidence sucked from the Canaries thereafter, and Wisdom, like his team, endured a tough afternoon from that point onwards, struggling in his defensive work and lacking going forward.
A miserable afternoon was summed up with the loaned man being forced off with injury two minutes from time with suspected knee ligament damage.
From the Premier League to the Serbian SuperLiga, Marko Grujic made a welcome return from a somewhat controversial injury spell for Red Star Belgrade in their 1-1 draw against arch rivals, Partizan.
The midfielder played 57 minutes of the grudge match in an advanced central role, but turned in a muted overall performance despite some bright moments—perhaps a result of coming back so quickly from a reportedly misdiagnosed ankle issue—an increasing concern for Liverpool.
Elsewhere in Europe, it was a rare quiet week of action for Luis Alberto, who played two games for Deportivo de La Coruna, picking up a hamstring injury in the second of those on Sunday night.
The Spaniard kicked off with a subdued performance in a 3-1 loss to Las Palmas on Monday, before enduring a frustrating return to Sevilla, where he turned in another muted display and was forced off after 52 minutes having been struck by Liverpool’s hamstring curse, with the extent of the damage not yet known.
In Italy, Mario Balotelli continued his recent spell of improved game time at AC Milan by completing the full 90 minutes of the Rossoneri’s narrow 1-0 victory against Sampdoria on Sunday night.
The Italy striker—who has confirmed he does not want to return to Anfield—was in determined mood and produced a mature performance in Christian Brocchi’s first game in charge, demonstrating impressive hold-up play throughout, but producing some wayward shooting.
In the Football League, Sergi Canos produced another bright performance at Griffin Park, helping Brentford to a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Bristol City.
Though the youngster didn’t post a direct contribution, he was involved in a number of good moments – including delivering a fantastic cross that saw only a fine save from the City goalkeeper deny Canos claiming a assist, as the stopper kept out a fine header from the ball in.
Meanwhile in the lower leagues, Lloyd Jones was left out of Blackpool’s squad this weekend for their 3-0 defeat to Rochdale, while Ryan Fulton was not involved for League Two side Portsmouth’s 2-1 home defeat to Plymouth – reportedly down to a thigh strain.
Back on the continent, Taiwo Awoniyi‘s recent promising form earned him a fourth consecutive start for Frankfurt in their clash against Paderborn on Friday night.
Leading the line for the 2. Bundesliga side, the powerful Nigerian completed another full game but that was the only positive of the evening, as he endured a quiet 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat.
Fellow European-based loanee Allan Rodrigues also enjoyed a full 90-minute outing for Sint Truidense on Saturday in their 1-0 loss to Lokoren.
The Brazilian—who has featured primarily from a wide-left role during his loan so far—enjoyed a central berth, but he struggled to make an impact with his only contribution of the afternoon – aside from firing a free-kick over the bar—being picking up a yellow card.
And in Switzerland, Samed Yesil was again an unused substitute for Luzern in their 1-0 victory over FC Zurich on Saturday, once more denied the opportunity to build on his impressive recent hat-trick for the club’s reserve side.
Liverpool FC Loaned Men in Action
- Balotelli – AC Milan – Played 90 mins vs. Sampdoria
- Alberto – Deportivo La Coruna – Played 90 mins vs. Las Palmas & 52 mins vs. Sevilla
- Wisdom – Norwich – Played 89 mins vs. Sunderland
- Grujic – Red Star Belgrade – Played 57 mins vs. Partizan
- Canos – Brentford – Played 84 mins vs. Bristol City
- Awoniyi – Frankfurt FSV – Played 90 mins vs. Paderborn
- Allan – Sint Truidense – Played 90 mins vs. Lokoren
- Yesil – Luzern – Unused substitute vs. Zurich
- Jones – Blackpool – Left out of matchday squad
- Fulton – Portsmouth – Left out of matchday squad
Injury News
Lazar Markovic Jordan Williams and Lawrence Vigouroux all missed another week of action due to injury—with the trio all unlikely to feature again this season.
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