Taiwo Awoniyi hit the net and Allan Rodrigues was in impressive form on a positive week for Liverpool’s loanees in which only one Red didn’t feature.
Awoniyi‘s excellent form at Royal Excel Mouscron just keeps on rolling, with the youngster among the goals again for the Belgian side.
Awoniyi registered on the scoresheet by notching Mouscron’s second in a 2-2 draw against Mechelen—hitting the net with a real poacher’s finish after 26 minutes.
As play developed down the right the Nigerian showed good movement as he made a darting run to get across his marker at the near post, where he used the speed of the cross to steer the ball in.
The strike is already Awoniyi’s fourth of the season, taking his figures to four goals and three assists from just eight appearances—a superb return.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq35nzzF-Oc
Allan provided the other main positive this week, with the Brazilian in impressive form on his European debut for Apollon Limassol against Everton.
It was a big night for the 20-year-old, with the eyes of the red half of the city also watching to see how he fared, and those that tuned in will have been impressed by a very promising display.
Operating in central midfield, Allan was excellent as he helped the Cyprian minnows to a deserved 2-2 draw, shining in his work knitting play together with slick distribution.
His 88 percent pass completion was the highest of any Apollon player.
But perhaps most impressive was the maturity of his display and the calming influence he provided on the big stage—with Allan a real composed figure, and arguably Apollon’s best player at Goodison Park.
It wasn’t as rewarding a week for the rest of Liverpool’s loanees around the globe.
Divock Origi was in uninspiring form at Wolfsburg, where the striker continues to blow hot and cold in his early weeks in the Bundesliga.
The Belgian played 84 minutes of a 1-1 draw against Mainz but turned in an ineffective performance, leading the line in Martin Schmidt’s 4-2-3-1 formation—managing only one off-target shot.
Meanwhile, Ryan Kent went without game time altogether, with the winger an unused substitute in Freiburg’s 3-2 win over Hoffenheim.
There was disappointment for Pedro Chirivella in the Eredivisie, with the Spaniard unable to prevent Willem II suffering a 4-0 thrashing at PSV Eindhoven, where he played 90 minutes and worked hard but for no reward.
Meanwhile in MLS, after enjoying a rare start last time out, Brooks Lennon was once again restricted to a cameo role in Real Salt Lake’s 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy—entering for the final 25 to help his side rescue a point.
There wasn’t much joy around for home-based Reds this week, which was compounded further by Sheyi Ojo dislocating his shoulder, which could keep him out for three months—as you can read in full here.
Ojo’s injury came in his second outing this week, with the youngster at least enjoying game time in a 59-minute appearance in Fulham’s 3-1 win at Nottingham Forest, where he played a role in his side’s opening goal.
None of the remaining Reds enjoyed the sweet taste of victory though, including Connor Randall, who played every minute of Hearts’ 2-1 defeat against Dundee.
Randall, who has predominantly featured in an unnatural central-midfield role this season, played closer to his natural position as he operated in a right wing-back role.
And from there he showed his defensive suitability with a solid display, but also produced some positive attacking moments as he nearly found the net—seeing a low drive drift just wide of the far post.
With Michael Beale watching on from the stands, Randall will have been pleased with his display.
Jordan Williams provided a ray of positivity as he continues to impress on what is developing into a rewarding spell at Rochdale, where the midfielder enjoyed back-to-back full games.
The first saw Williams anchor the midfield with impressive maturity to earn a point in a goalless draw at Blackpool.
And the youngster and his team-mates repeated the trick with the same result at Wimbledon—keeping a fourth straight clean sheet in the process.
It was a miserable week all round for Liverpool’s League Two duo.
That was perhaps mostly the case for young goalkeeper Shamal George, who saw the No. 1 shirt slip through his fingers at Carlisle.
The ‘keeper endured a dire midweek as he made two howlers to cost both goals in a 2-0 loss to Stevenage—dropping a catch in his six-yard box which was punished, before then spilling a routine header over his shoulder and into the net for the second.
The error-riddled display couldn’t have been worse timed with George having just established himself as No. 1, and he unfortunately paid the price as he dropped to the bench on Saturday.
It was disappointing management from Keith Curle to drop George so brutally at a time a show of faith in a young player learning his trade would have provided a much-needed boost.
I'd Like to apologise to the team and fans.
— Shamal George (@shamalgeorge) September 26, 2017
Meanwhile, Toni Gomes endured a frustrating week at Forest Green Rovers—playing just 30 minutes against Cambridge in midweek before being left out of matchday involvement completely on Saturday.
And an update on Naby Keita at RB Leipzig to finish.
Keita returned to action for the Champions League clash with Besiktas in midweek—three days after Leipzig, remarkably, won for the first time ever in the Bundesliga without the Guinean in the team.
He played an hour of a 2-0 loss in Turkey, and that was his only runout as he missed his side’s 2-1 win at Cologne on Sunday through suspension.
Liverpool’s Loanees This Week
- Divock Origi – Wolfsburg – Played 84 mins vs. Mainz
- Ryan Kent – Freiburg – Unused sub vs. Hoffenheim
- Pedro Chirivella – Willem – Played 90 mins vs. PSV Eindhoven
- Sheyi Ojo – Fulham – Played 59 mins vs. Nottingham Forest & 52 mins vs. QPR, suffering injury
- Connor Randall – Hearts – Played 90 mins vs. Dundee
- Taiwo Awoniyi – Mouscron – Played 79 mins and scored vs. Mechelen
- Allan Rodrigues – Apollon Limassol – Played 90 mins vs. Everton & unused sub vs. Nea Salamis
- Jordan Williams – Rochdale – Played 90 mins vs. Blackpool & Wimbledon
- Toni Gomes – Forest Green – Played 30 mins vs. Cambridge & left out of matchday squad vs. Accrington Stanley
- Shamal George – Carlisle – Played 90 mins vs. Stevenage & unused sub vs. Crawley
- Brooks Lennon – Real Salt Lake – Played 30 mins vs. LA Galaxy
- Naby Keita – RB Leipzig – Played 60 mins vs. Besiktas & suspended vs. Cologne
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