Of all the players to score for Spain last night, it just had to be Martin Zubimendi, didn’t it?
Handed a start in place of the injured Rodri , the Real Sociedad midfielder scored his first-ever international goal to hand the European champions a narrow 1-0 win over Denmark in the Nations League.
The inevitable discourse followed on social media. ‘Liverpool must be crying’; ‘Just recalled that he rejected Liverpool’; ‘Hold that Liverpool’.
Rival fans were reveling in the moment, taking every opportunity to remind supporters of the Reds of their failed pursuit for the 25-year-old. Any Liverpool fan who saw the goal though wouldn’t have exactly been crying themselves to sleep.
Zubimendi caught his volley well, but it took an almost immediate deflection off Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and even with that, Kasper Schmeichel should have done much, much better as he let the ball squeeze under him.
Still, you can’t deny Zubimendi his moment of glory, no matter how much Liverpool fans might not want to offer him any praise after he turned down the Reds’ advances. Having scored the winner in a game that looked destined to end goalless, it's his name that grabbed all the headlines in the aftermath.
The truth is though, this wasn’t a performance for the ages by any stretch of the imagination. It wasn’t a bad one either, mind, but it certainly wouldn’t have brought Richard Hughes out in cold sweats if he was watching on.
It was, overall, a pretty drab performance from Spain, and Zubimendi hadn’t really stood out at all until that decisive moment. He wasn’t given a particularly hard time by a Denmark side that looked more than happy to return home with a draw, and nor did he really look like he would take the game to his opponents.
He is an able deputy to Rodri, but it was clear Luis de la Fuente’s side was missing the Manchester City star, along with a host of other players. If you’d been taking a look at social media mere minutes before the goal, you’d have seen plenty of Spanish fans saying as much.
It was notable how many were bemoaning Zubimendi’s ‘safe’ approach on the ball, often choosing to pick simple passes when receiving the ball from his defenders or goalkeeper rather than looking to turn and make up some ground. It was reminiscent of the same sort of complaints you used to get when Jordan Henderson was playing for England, and even Liverpool at times.
There was certainly no sign of the Ryan Gravenberch feint that has become such a trademark for the Dutchman this season, and has seen him effortlessly beat the press on countless occasions and get the Reds on the attack in no time at all. The two are different styles of player though, and after the start he’s had this season, it would be very hard to imagine anyone but Gravenberch in that No.6 role for Liverpool right now.
So, will Liverpool fans be ‘crying’ after Zubimendi’s goal? No. Did he show the Reds what they’re missing after that failed transfer? Not especially. Will Liverpool regret not snapping him up anyway? There are bigger tests to come for Gravenberch, but at this moment in time, Arne Slot can be more than happy with what he ended up with.
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