Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hailed Naby Keita as a "complete midfielder" after his impressive performance against Huddersfield .
The Reds put five goals past the Premier League's bottom side on Friday night to return to the top of the table and put pressure on title rivals Manchester City .
Keita , 24, scored Liverpool's fastest ever Premier League goal after just 15 seconds before Mo Salah and Sadio Mane added two goals apiece to seal a routine 5-0 win.
The Guinean international had a slow start to life at Anfield following his £50 million move from Red Bull Leipzig last summer but has started to show signs of his quality in recent weeks, finding the net three times in his last five appearances and impressing with his defensive abilities in the middle of the pitch.
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Keita's improved performances haven't gone unnoticed by his manager, who expects him to get even better next season.
“He’s a complete midfielder," Klopp told Sky Sports after the match. "Today he showed his best game in all defensive situations, so difficult to deal with.
"He’s so quick in the short spaces, you can’t stop that. And I don’t know how many balls he blocked tonight.
“People were asking me about Naby Keita and we always thought we signed him for next year.
“He needed time to adapt but thank God he has done it this season.”
The win also saw Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain make his first appearance of the season for the Reds after he recovered from a serious knee injury which he suffered during last season's Champions League semi-final.
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It was almost a perfect return for the England international, but he saw a close-range effort denied by the outstretched leg of Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
“It’s brilliant and so good [to see him back]," Klopp added. "Seeing his smile after he missed the chance was heartbreaking.
“It’s been over a year now. It’s cool. It was a perfect day, nothing happened injury-wise and of course I’m happy.
"He’s such a wonderful, wonderful person. Even better as a player, imagine that? He’s already a really good player but as a guy he is outstanding.
“We are so happy for him.”
