Liverpool flop is outperforming Lionel Messi - 'another masterclass' proves why he was sold

When Arne Slot takes over as Liverpool manager this summer, his arrival will act as a fresh start for a number of players.

Fabio Carvalho has already admitted as much in an exclusive interview with the ECHO, having found his game-time limited at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp prior to spending the most recent season out on loan. It is always the way when a new manager walks through the door.

However, while a door can open for some, it will close for others. As was the case when Klopp became Reds manager himself back in October 2015.

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His arrival transformed the fortunes of Roberto Firmino, who had initially struggled at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers following his £29m arrival from Hoffenheim. But Klopp’s appointment had a contrasting impact on Liverpool’s other big-money attacking signing that summer.

Having regularly tormented the Reds with Aston Villa, Liverpool paid £32.5m to sign Christian Benteke in the summer of 2015. And his arrival seemingly paid off immediately as he enjoyed a bright start to his Anfield career.

First-choice under Rodgers, he netted the winner on his home debut against AFC Bournemouth and scored twice from his opening six games for his new club - with the second a spectacular scissor kick at Old Trafford. But then an untimely injury struck and Klopp was in the dugout upon his return.

As Firmino became the German’s go-to attacking option, it soon became clear that Benteke just didn’t fit the new Liverpool manager’s preferred style.

From thereon in, the target man was more a squad option than first-choice forward. He still scored 10 goals for the Reds in his maiden season at the club, registering five assists, but only 20 of his 42 appearances came from the start.

And after starting all six of those opening games under Rodgers, he only registered back-to-back starts on three occasions under Klopp. On the bench for both the League Cup and Europa League finals, he would start just twice in the Premier League in 2016, with it no surprise when he was sold to Crystal Palace in a deal worth up to £32m after just one season.

Playing under Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce during his first season at Selhurst Park, Benteke was a perfect fit for the Eagles. He struck 17 times in all competitions, including a match-winning brace at Anfield against his former club, and was clearly suited to their more direct style.

But then the goals dried up for the Belgian, as he scored only 20 more times for Palace over the next five years before departing for MLS side D.C. United in August 2022. While too harsh to discard him as a big-money flop for Palace, it was clear that Benteke had never managed to live up to impressive first campaign with the club as he retreated to a lesser league.

Signed by Wayne Rooney as a designated player, he initially endured a slow start to life in the United States. He would finish his first half-season with D.C. with just one goal from seven appearances as they finished bottom of the Eastern Conference.

However, he would follow that up with an eye-catching 14 goals from 31 appearances in the 2023 MLS season as D.C. narrowly missed out on qualifying for the play-offs. And the 2024 campaign is shaping up to be even more fruitful for the now 33-year-old Benteke.

He is currently the top scorer in the MLS with 11 goals from just 10 appearances, level with fellow former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and one ahead of the great Lionel Messi. And while the South American pair’s exploits see Inter Miami lead the MLS Eastern Conference, D.C. currently sit seventh in the table and are on course to qualify for the play-offs for the first time since 2019.

Meanwhile, Benteke has scored two hat-tricks so far this season, with the latest treble downing Atlanta United as D.C. ran out 3-2 winners on Saturday.

Named MLS player of the matchday and in the team of the matchday, the club’s social media accounts would label his display as ‘another Benteke masterclass,’ as they crowed ‘this is just what he does,’ after his second hat-trick of the campaign.

Benteke’s latest treble against Atlanta would be a hat-trick of headers as D.C repeatedly tormented their opponents in the air and made the most of the Belgian’s physical and aerial prowess.

Atlanta were without first-choice pairing Stian Gregersen and Derrick Williams, so had to field veteran Luis Abram and 18-year-old Noah Cobb at centre-back instead. Benteke thrived, winning 10 aerial duals, while no two D.C. players linked up more than the 11 passes goalkeeper Alex Bono played to the Belgian.

Of course, this wasn’t just a one-off. He has won more aerial battles than any other player in the MLS right now with 135. To put such a figure, from just 10 appearances into further context, Kevin Long is second in the rankings with 52. Benteke has more aerial duels won by himself than 12 other MLS teams.

Last season he won 241 aerial duals, as second-placed Sean Nealis won 140. He is the only player to boast more than 174 in a season over the past seven campaigns, and is on course to eclipse such a record once more in just a matter of weeks.

D.C. are clearly making the most of Benteke’s strengths, to devastating effect against the rest of the MLS. Liverpool of course know how that feels, having seen the Belgian score seven times against them from 14 games.

Such a record prompted the Reds to sign the forward in the first place back in 2015, only for his style not to suit them. While Benteke is a stand-out star in the MLS this season, outscoring Messi in the process, the way he got there demonstrates exactly why he flopped at Liverpool in the first place.