Slot names Liverpool player who “does it with all he’s got” after Qarabag win

Arne Slot’s post-match praise after Liverpool’s 6-0 win over Qarabag was aimed squarely at Wataru Endo.

With Jeremie Frimpong forced off inside two minutes, Endo came on at right-back and quietly helped keep the night under control.

Slot’s comments, published via Liverpoolfc.com, made it obvious why he values him.

“Positive, as we’re used to from Wata. You give him a job and he does it with all he’s got.”

That is about trust as much as performance.

Slot’s Endo praise explains why he keeps getting emergency roles

Slot was honest that Endo is not a like-for-like replacement for Frimpong.

“What you lack a little bit if you play him over there [is] you don’t have as many overlaps or one-v-one quality as maybe Jeremie Frimpong has.”

But he then explained what Endo gives us instead, “But what he does is so decent, concentrated and focused.”

It also fits the pattern from the weekend at Bournemouth, when Endo had to fill in at centre-back after Joe Gomez’s injury.

Endo is not glamorous cover, he’s reliable and managers lean on reliability when the squad is being stretched.

Endo’s Qarabag numbers show how he helped us control the game

The stats from Sofascore underline why Slot was comfortable after throwing him into another unfamiliar role.

Wataru Endo vs Qarabag

That passing accuracy matters in a game where we dominated the ball as it helped us keep Qarabag pinned in.

It also meant the back line rarely had to defend in panic moments, Slot did add an important caveat, though.

“The real test, of course, is for our last line… if you face Newcastle and Manchester City, which I rate a bit above Qarabag.”

That is Slot being realistic about context, not taking anything away from Endo.

It is also a subtle reminder of what we might be dealing with if Frimpong misses time.

Endo has already shown he will step in wherever he is needed and after this week, it’s hard to argue he has not earned more trust.

Endo even reflected that calm mindset after the Bournemouth loss, saying: “Of course the result we are disappointed about… I’m just disappointed about the result.”

That is the tone of a player who accepts responsibility without drama.

With Fabrizio Romano stating we could dip into the transfer market to try and bridge the current fitness issues, it’ll be interesting to see how much more playing time is handed to the captain of Japan.

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