Red Star Belgrade vs. Liverpool: Adam Lallana Can Capitalize On Xherdan Shaqiri's Absence

When Mohamed Salah left the 2018 UEFA Champions League final with a dislocation after only half an hour, Jürgen Klopp was forced to turn to the substitutes' bench and nearly fill the gap left by the Egyptian. It was actually an impossible task.

In the end, Klopp turned to a player who lacked training in the game, who had completed a 90-minute series all season, but who, he knows, could excel in his top three, as he had done it regularly a year earlier.

All this says about Klopp's lack of depth in his last term also testifies to the belief Adam Lallana still commands among those that matter in Anfield. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, he was out of pace, offbeat and could not compensate for Salah's loss to Real Madrid.

Kiev was one of Lallana's most unforgettable nights in a Liverpool jersey. And although the memories of the race to the final live long with many fans of the club, it is already a year that many begin to forget Lallana.

Not long ago, he had been of considerable importance to this team. In Klopp's first match, tied for Tottenham Hotspur, Lallana almost collapsed under one of his coach's hugs. He was so exhausted that he led for the first time this intense style of pressing.

The picture became symbolic of the new order at Anfield. This was one of the most lenient signatures of the Brendan Rodgers era, bought without much thought in mind, but it was only now that there was evidence of direction and purpose.

Lallana has become one of the best in the realization of the particular style of Klopp. The next campaign was the best of his career at Anfield, operating either as a central midfielder with a license to break, or in a fluid front alongside two of Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino.

A new three-year contract came into effect in February for a player approaching his 29th birthday. This is a contract that Liverpool has not generally concluded for a player arriving at middle age, but Lallana's performances have been rewarded.

When news of Lallana's thigh injury was announced before the start of next season, his absence for at least three months or more was considered a blow to Liverpool's hopes of sailing in a series. of difficult opening matches. It was supposed to wipe out their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

A little more than a year later, Liverpool was again competing in the Champions League, with new depth in key positions. Lallana not only suffered the problem in the thigh, but also the hamstrings and the fact that he has made only four appearances this season represents little more than a footnote .

Lallana should be encouraged by the fact that three of those outings were held in Liverpool's four games. It is unlikely that opportunities will come as regularly as Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita are fully recovered from their respective wounds.

At least, as Liverpool prepares to meet the Red Star in Belgrade on Tuesday night, Lallana is present. Xherdan Shaqiri, the summer rookie of Stoke City and Lallana's main competition this season, was curiously left behind in Merseyside for reasons that can only be described as political.

Klopp was also reluctant to talk about Shaqiri's absence in Belgrade on Monday night and equally reluctant when the subject of his training was mentioned. Was this now an opportunity for Lallana?

"All games are opportunities," he said. "All I could say about it would take you in one direction. I do not want to give the line-up away. "

However, given Shaqiri's situation, other's fitness concerns, and the temptation to calm the regulars against the bottom row of Group C, it would be surprising if Lallana is not offered another chance at the Rajko Mitic stadium.

Some will wonder if, at age 30 and after spending so long away, he can still be the same player as 18 months ago. Pretty good. Still, the last time he played two consecutive 90-minute games in Liverpool, it was early in 2017 and he was an undisputed first-team player.

How does the Red Star Tuesday followed by Fulham on Saturday ring? This week could be an opportunity for Lallana to get out of the cold.

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