He thus reached a milestone that the Reds have not seen for 18 years. As Michael Reid pointed out on Twitter, Liverpool were playing their fifth game in 13 days. Endo is the only player to start every game. This is a feat that no player has accomplished since January 2006.
At that time, spinning was not as widespread as it is now. So there were a few players who started five games in 13 days: Stephen Finnan, Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyppia, Steven Gerrard, Harry Kewell and Peter Crouch. However, no one has done so since, as managers have reduced the number of games players start all together. Endo was an anomaly at the time – and in the game he didn’t really need it to begin with. Endo slowly came back to life in Liverpool. In fact, some of his early games were pretty poor and he seemed to be out of his depth. But Jurgen Klopp stuck with him and the midfielder is now the most consistent part of the starting XI. Part of that, of course, is that Endo is the team’s only midfielder and Stefan Bajcetic and Alexis McAllister are still injured.
But it also shows how much Klopp believes in the player. In fact, Endo received a yellow card after being suspended from playing against Burnley. Not only did the manager trust him as a starter, he played him for 90 minutes.He has also never received a yellow card and could feature against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day. And the way things are going, everyone just has to wait for it to begin.
Alex ChappellWataru Endo started for Liverpool against Burnley on Boxing Day and scored his first goal for Liverpool in 18 years. Jurgen Klopp has expressed his confidence in the players of the Japanese national team. Wataru Endo started for Liverpool in their Boxing Day Premier League match at Burnley.
