Garth Crooks has hailed Divock Origi following his late winner against Wolves, labelling the Liverpool forward “as good a finisher as I’ve seen”.
Origi was subbed on with just over 20 minutes to go at Molineux as Liverpool sought to take advantage of Chelsea’s earlier slip-up in the title race.
Latching on to a cutback from Mohamed Salah, the Belgian striker drilled the ball past Wolves ‘keeper Jose Sa in the 94th minute, prompting scenes of bedlam on the Liverpool bench.
It is not the first time that Origi has been effective as a substitute so far this term and Crooks was effusive in his praise for the 26-year-old, who he named in his Team of the Week.
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“A player cannot survive by goals alone - not if you want to play regularly for Liverpool you can't,” he told BBC Sport .
“Divock Origi is as good a finisher as I've seen. I sat in disbelief when he came on against Spurs in the Champions League final and scored one of the best goals I've seen taken in such circumstances.
“To have the capacity to remain at a club when you have that finishing ability speaks volumes about the manager and your team-mates.
“Origi never complains about being on the bench but always seems the most dangerous man on the pitch when he's called on by his team.
“The response from his team-mates who came from everywhere to congratulate him after winner against Wolves tells me just how popular he is in the dressing room.”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp echoed Crooks’ assessment in his post-match interviews, describing Origi as a “legend” and even admitting: “I hope one day he finds a manager that plays him more than I do”.
The quality forward options at the German coach’s disposal has limited the Belgium international’s game time in recent years, with the Wolves game providing his third league appearance of the campaign.
However that hasn’t deterred Origi, who has still managed to score four and register two assists in just over 300 minutes of football across all competitions this season.
