‘Gem of a player’ - Fans react to Liverpool youngster after impressive Bayern Munich display

Liverpool fans have been praising the second-half performance of winger Ben Doak following their 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich.

It was Jurgen Klopp’s side first defeat of pre-season, as they succumbed to Thomas Tuchel’s side in an entertaining affair in front of a sold-out crowd at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Goals from Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Virgil Van Dijk were not enough to secure a victory but there were plenty of positives to take from the game ahead of their final warm-up game against Darmstadt ahead of the opening weekend of the Premier League. One of those was 17-year-old Doak.

Having come on in the second half, he replaced Mohamed Salah in the 76th minute and produced an excellant cameo on the right wing. Up against the experienced Bouna Sarr, he dazzled fans by putting the Senegalese defender on the turf on multiple occasions, showing pace, power and close-control that has certainly got people talking.

He netted Liverpool’s fourth during their 4-0 romp of Leicester in their previous outing and he’s enjoyed plenty of minutes across their pre-season tour so far. He has made five first-team appearances under Klopp so far, coming in substitute appearances in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and the Premier League last season.

The Scottish Post described the wonderkid as a ‘wee belter’ following his display and he’s certainly making a case to be involved with the first-team as a backup this season.

In fact, across pre-season so far, he has completed the same amount of dribbles (six) as Luis Diaz, which is the joint-most in the Liverpool squad. He’s also played 30 minutes less as well.

Fans couldn’t help but comment on the youngster, with many struggling to believe that he is still yet to turn 18. One fan commented: ‘Ben Doak is absolutely electric. So unpredictable, hard to dislodge off the ball.’

Whilst another said: ‘Ben Doak is an absolute gem of a player’.

Another believes he could join the first-team setup this season: ‘Ben Doak has something effectively old-fashioned about the way he carries himself. Gritty, determined, apparently fearless. Won’t be surprised if Klopp loves him and he’s firmly in the first-team fold this season.’

Klopp admitted ‘it was special’ watching Doak bounce off the likes of Cody Gakpo, Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai as part of an exciting front four in their victory over Leicester and it’s likely he will be granted more minutes this season - especially given there is no out-and-out replacement for Salah on the right-flank.

Exciting times lie ahead for the Dalry native.