Liverpool swept aside Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 in the Premier League International cup on Wednesday night, thanks to a stunning goal from Billy Koumetio.
The 20-year-old stole the show with a strike from inside his own-half, giving all Liverpool fans warm memories of when Xabi Alonso used to take aim from seemingly unimaginable distances.
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He posted the goal on his Instagram account with the caption: “Thankful to God that giveth the ability to do this. Praise God. 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑚𝑒. 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 4:13”.
The towering defender actually opened the scoring in the ninth minute, before a Luke Chambers penalty doubled the U21’s lead. Then Koumetio took aim from inside his own half to make it three before half time.
The U21’s head coach Barry Lewtas spoke about Koumetio’s strike post-match: “It was unbeliveable! It was good technique, first of all, the way he received the ball and then he spotted their goalkeeper off his line and he’s put it away. Pretty amazing really.”
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Oludare Olufunwa made it four shortly after the hour mark, as Liverpool dominated throughout. PSG netted two late goals to make the score line semi-respectable but the Reds were rampant in Kirkby under the lights.
Having only just returned from a six-month loan spell at Austria Vienna, Koumetio will be hoping that goal caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp, who is currently without Virgil van Dijk at the back.
During his time in Austria, he played over 1,000 minutes of competitive action across five competitions, including the Europa League Qualifying stage, Europa Conference League and the Austrian Bundesliga.
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Koumetio. has played 90 minute of action under Klopp before during the EFL Cup in December 2021 as they beat Leicester City on penalties at Anfield, as well as away in the Champions League group stages in 2020 against FC Midtjylland, in a 1-1 draw.
That win sees Liverpool in a rich vein of form, winning four out of their last five games as they sit third in Group C of the International Cup, three points off Everton who are top of the group having played a game more.
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Their Premier League 2 form is also strong, given they sit fifth, just two points off Manchester City, in what is an extremely tight league.