Liverpool’s struggles this season have given Stefan Bajčetić a chance to grab, as have Bukayo Saka at Arsenal and Marcus Rashford at Manchester United.

The simple goal in football is to dominate 100% of the time, although such a goal is virtually impossible to achieve. Once fans have risen to the top of the sport by acquiring significant silverware, they expect to stay there by winning again and again.

The reality is that football tends to go in cycles – as Manchester United legend Alex Ferguson once noted – with different teams experiencing what it’s like to reach the top at different times. It’s almost like taking turns in many ways. Over the past five years, Liverpool have lived a happy life at the top. Under Jürgen Klopp, the Reds won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Club World Cup, Super Cup and everything in between as they took over the world.

While Liverpool prospered, Arsenal and Manchester United struggled, often forced to compete in the Europa League while clamoring for improvements on the pitch. Those dark days are feared and hated by fans, but times of adversity often provide opportunities for up-and-coming talent to take the spotlight and show what they’re made of.

Pressure makes diamonds, as they say, and that has been the case of late for once-dominant Arsenal and Manchester United as youngsters emerge from tough times. For example, Marcus Rashford only got a chance from Louis van Gaal all those years ago because the Red Devils couldn’t guarantee consistency on the pitch. Rashford rose and sparked newfound fame at Old Trafford, seizing the moment to impress more experienced players such as Ángel Di María, Radamel Falcao and many others who struggled to shine in Manchester.

At the Emirates, Arsenal’s troubles on the attacking side of the game provided opportunities for Bukayo Saka to impress, and he is now regarded as one of Mikel Arteta’s key pillars.

This season, Rashford and Saka are both thriving on the court, with each of their respective teams thriving. The development of the English duo is relevant when assessing the scenario at Anfield this season, as for the first time in Klopp’s tenure, Liverpool appear to have slipped. The players have aged and passed their prime and it looks like the Reds in particular need a new midfield division, with Jude Bellingham leading the way on a summer transfer.

Start the conversation

Liverpool currently sit ninth in the Premier League table and they’ve essentially swapped places with Arsenal and Manchester United along those lines, but Klopp may have found his own Rashford or Saka as a result.

Starting in the center of the park, replacing Thiago Alcântara as the team’s left number eight. He has made a string of starts since the end of the World Cup in December, but it was mostly a coming-of-age display, offering a glimpse of what he could become in a redshirt.

Would Bajčetić have had so much playing time lately if Liverpool were top of the Premier League table again? That seems unlikely given the club’s successful claim.

The teen star still has a long way to go, but every week she’s looking more and more of a gem. Klopp will push the Reds out of their rocky spell over the next few months and if he does he could have the latest prodigy by his side.

Also…

Liverpool will soon see Darwin Núñez explode after Mohamed Salah ‘promise’ and final piece added

Darwin Núñez may not have scored in Liverpool’s Merseyside Derby win over Everton on Monday night, but he did do something that suggests he may soon be exploding.

There was a moment, 87 minutes after Liverpool’s Premier League tie with Manchester City in October, when Darwin Núñez led a three-man counterattack.

With only Bernardo Silva returning for the visitors and Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah running forward alongside Núñez, Liverpool, leading 1-0, had a glorious chance to seal the three points.

But instead of Salah or Jota sliding away for what should have been an easy finish, Núñez inexplicably cuts and attempts to shoot from the edge of the area, with Bernardo making the block.

There were bitter groans throughout Anfield and if Manchester City had found an equaliser, Núñez would have been criticized much more heavily for a baffling play. Whether it was due to lack of awareness or sheer self-interest, he proved the 23-year-old wasn’t thinking clearly. But on Monday night, he executed a similar situation perfectly.

After James Tarkowski hit the post and Dwight McNeil’s shot was deflected towards Núñez, he fed the ball to Salah for a one-two.

It was the sound of the gun and Liverpool’s front three roared – Núñez in possession on the left, Salah in the middle and Cody Gakpo on the right.

Idrissa Gueye struggled to keep up with the speedy Uruguayan while Vitalii Mykolenko was trailed, virtually knocking him out.

It was basically a three-on-one again on the counterattack. In the kind of scenario where he has thrown his lines too often, especially against Manchester City, Núñez bounced a perfect pass off Salah’s run at the perfect moment, giving him the simple task of pushing into a net that Jordan Pickford had left unattended.

Here, Núñez showed the missing ingredient – calm. Too often he was led to the lead by bloodlust in the final third. That’s a big part of why he’s missed 16 big Premier League chances so far this season.

But the overwhelming confidence of the fans is that he will bring some freshness to his game and his performance will explode. It’s a shared belief in the Liverpool dressing room, at least based on comments Salah made after Monday’s game.

“This guy is going to score a lot of goals,” said the Egyptian. “Trust me.”

The most important thing, of course, is that Núñez is calm when he’s in front of goal. He is ultimately judged on how often he finds the web.

But decisiveness and composure also play a role on the creative side of the game, especially when used on the left side of attack rather than in the middle. He hasn’t received the same amount of quality opportunities in this role, so he has to find other ways to contribute.

He may not have been the goalscorer on Monday night but he provided the quality moment Liverpool desperately needed after a full but spirited 35 minutes, not only with his assist but also with the double win early in the game. game.

In doing so, he showed a quality that should allow him to become fruitful and fulfill Salah’s ‘promise’.