Liverpool fans have not quite seen the best of Naby Keita since the Guinean made his move to Merseyside in the summer of 2018.
Injury issues and inconsistency have troubled the ex-Leipzig midfielder for the past three seasons, but recent glimpses of him from this summer’s pre-season have filled the Reds supporters with a new faith that the best of their midfielder is yet to come.
Keita’s performance for Liverpool in their pre-season outing against Mainz in Salzburg excited a lot of fans after clips from his game went viral on social media platforms after the match.
The 26-year-old showed glimpses of the fiery form that he was known for in his RB Leipzig days, as he terrorized Bundesliga side, Mainz, with his quick feet.
— @PassLikeThiago (@PLTComps11) July 23, 2021
Keita took on defenders at his will as he breezed past them or simply nutmegged them in clips of his brilliant performance in the friendly.
Silky feet from Naby 🤩 #LFCPreSeason pic.twitter.com/cOjXgQGi7n
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 24, 2021
Liverpool won the friendly match 1-0 courtesy of Luca Killian’s 86th-minute own goal, but they could have scored many more goals considering the number of chances that Keita created from midfield.
Keita was impressive as he showed brilliant skill to get out of tight spaces and escape the German side’s press with ease, and put on a show that excited plenty of Liverpool supporters about the Guinean finally getting up to pace in a high-intensity competition such as the Premier League.
Keita was almost unplayable and was undisputedly Liverpool’s best player on the afternoon as he seemed to have regained the form that earned him a transfer to Liverpool, and the upcoming season might just prove to be his breakthrough season in England.
