Liverpool-bound Naby Keita shows the good and bad as he scores in Leipzig win

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  • Farewell goal: Naby Keita

    Naby Keita was among the scorers as RB Leipzig moved above Schalke and into second place in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 home victory over the Gelsenkirchen outfit.

    Amid continued talk about the possibility of his move to Liverpool being brought forward from the summer to this month, Keita gave the hosts the lead in the 41st minute with a strike from outside the box that took a considerable deflection off Naldo.

    Here, we analyse the performance of Keita before he was substituted in the 68th minute.

    STATISTICS 

    Goals – 1

    Assists – 0

    Shots – 1

    Shots on target – 1

    Touches – 41

    Passes – 24

    Key passes – 2

    Dribbles – 1

    Dispossessed – 2

    Goalscorer: Naby Keita fires home from range

    Goalscorer: Naby Keita fires home from range

    EFFECTIVENESS 

    With Keita in the starting XI, speculation an early move to Anfield is imminent would appear premature. Neither the player, Liverpool or RB Leipzig would want to risk injury so close to a switch but regardless there are plenty of takeaways from his peformance.

    Deployed in a midfield trio with boss Ralph Hasenhuttl opting for a 4-3-3, Keita operated on the left in a role similar to that of Philippe Coutinho when he was tasked in an attacking midfield spot. Keita, though, showed why he’s a different animal entirely to the Brazilian.

    Coutinho is full of flare and jinks his way past defenders with acute skill and while the Guinea international displayed his dribbling ability, it’s born out of his powerful running.

    Time and time again he drove the Schalke backline into retreat and his positional sense to take up dangerous spots in behind the defence had their holding midfield Max Meyer struggling to hold him down.

    He was Leipzig’s attacking thrust as he slalomed into the box, with or without the ball, and it was like watching a Ferrari navigate the turns of the Nurburgring.

    On two occasions in the first 45 he powered past defenders into dangerous positions and a penalty shout in particular showed his class after a quick one-two following neat work out wide put him in threatening territory.

    Granted, his goal arrived with a slice of fortune from a deflection off Naldo but the fact is he deserved that luck for constantly demanding the ball.

    He was efficient and effective but the second 45 brought the obvious sign of improvement required.

    Keita wants the ball all the time, whether from his teammates or from the opponent but that eagerness can cloud his judgement and he frequently committed fouls. They were reckless and mistimed and he was often miles away from the ball.

    It’s why after a yellow he was shortly brought off because the 22-year-old was heading for the tunnel if it wasn’t the bench.

    A display which is a microcosm of his season – the good and bad.

    KEY MOMENTS

    12th min PENALTY SHOUT: A real indication of Keita’s attacking thrust as he gathers the ball wide left, shows neat footwork to sprint past his man and a quick one-two releases the midfielder into the box before Benjamin Stambouli dives in to ricochet the ball out. Keita wants a penalty but the official waves for a goalkick.

    27th min FOUL: The foul count is totting up already as just inside the Schalke half, Keita needlessly chops Alessandro Schopf’s standing leg before an aerial ball even drops near the pair.

    33rd min CHANCE: Formidable acceleration from the Guinea international as again Keita drives into the area only for Naldo to slide across to divert his threatening pass out for a corner.

    41st min GOAL: Kevin Kampl slaloms his way down the left and he cuts the ball inside to Keita who in a central position has time to smash a thunderous strike which looks destined for the bottom corner only for a slight deflection to take it down the middle. No celebration from the 22-year-old – a sign he’s off?

    53rd min YELLOW CARD: And that’s his fifth booking of the season which means he’ll be suspended for next Saturday’s clash with Freiburg. Good tracking back from Keita but he overstretches trying to dispossess Schopf and concedes a freekick. A cumulative yellow rather than for the individual challenge.

    68th min SUBSTITUTED: On that yellow card, Keita is brought off for Yussuf Poulsen.

    Subdued: Naby Keita after scoring the opener

    Subdued: Naby Keita after scoring the opener

    OUR VERDICT

    Positives: energy, pace, positional intelligence and efficiency on the ball. Negatives: reckless and mistimed challenges.

    The display against Schalke was a microcosm of what Keita offers. His virtue and vice is that he relentlessly seeks the ball but it’s for that reason he commits so many fouls.

    Still, he was superb in the first half and that alone will be enough to provide plenty of excitement for Liverpool supporters.

    RATING: 7/10

    All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com

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