When a player is not a regular in the first team, they have to make the most of every opportunity they are granted to impress.
A fleeting glance at Takumi Minamino’s record with Liverpool might suggest he hasn’t capitalised upon the playing time he has had with the club.
The Japanese international has made 32 appearances for the Reds, and after his brace at Carrow Road in the 3-0 League Cup victory over Norwich City, he has six goals and two assists.
But judging Minamino on games alone isn’t fair thanks to only 13 of his appearances being starts. His 1,330 minutes in a Liverpool shirt equates to 14.8 full matches. Suddenly that record of eight goal contributions starts to look a little more impressive.
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And if we grant him the second half of the 2019/20 season as a settling-in period (which won’t have been easy thanks to the global lockdown which was implemented shortly after he arrived) then Minamino’s record looks all the more encouraging.
Since the start of 2020/21, the former Salzburg man has played 836 minutes in all competitions for Liverpool, with all his goals and assists coming in that time.
He broke his duck for the club in the Community Shield against Arsenal in the summer of 2020, before scoring twice more and providing an assist for Divock Origi in the League Cup win over Lincoln City.
Minamino got his first league goal for Liverpool in his fourth start in the competition by opening the scoring in the 7-0 win at Crystal Palace last December, then assisted a goal in the FA Cup win at Aston Villa in his final start before leaving for Southampton on loan.
As the win at Norwich – for which he was awarded an eight in the post-match ratings – was his first appearance of 2021/22, it means the 26-year-old has scored or created a goal in each of his previous three starts for the Reds and in four of the last eight.
While you can certainly debate the quality of the opposition he has faced, there’s little argument with his record over the last year or so.
And that extends to pre-season too. Are goals in friendlies against sides from the top divisions in Germany, Italy and Spain more valuable than those scored or assisted in competitive cup ties against third-tier Lincoln and an Aston Villa youth side?
Whatever your view on that, Taki was the Reds’ joint-top scorer this summer.
Leaving friendlies aside, Minamino has scored or assisted a goal for Liverpool every 105 minutes in the last two seasons, which puts him ahead of Mohamed Salah (one every 107), Diogo Jota (136), Sadio Mane (155) and Roberto Firmino (182) in that period.
Klopp praised Liverpool’s number 18 after the match, with his fine record backing up the manager’s comments.
“Taki (Minamino) is in a really good moment but didn't play too much, came back from the national team and had to get fit, sometimes it is easier, but he is a top character,” Klopp said.
"I enjoyed his game tonight. He was causing them problems tonight, so that will help him and help us.”
Minamino also deserves credit for demonstrating his versatility against Norwich.
His four starts in the two main competitions in 2020/21 came in four slightly different positions – central and on the left of the front three, and then on either side of the midfield trio.
In east Anglia on Tuesday evening, he started on the left of the attacking trident, then later switched positions with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to take the berth on the right side of midfield.
That these two players linked up closely together for the third goal demonstrates how arbitrary positions can be at times in any case.
But wherever he is asked to play, Minamino seems to deliver.
While he will struggle to consign Liverpool’s main forwards to the bench on a regular basis, his record shows he is a very capable back-up when required.
