Liverpool's new midfield general sank Salzburg and is primed to take Premier League by storm

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Naby Keita scored for the second game in a row.
 (Image: Photo by David Geieregger/SEPA.Media /Getty Images)

There had to come a point at some stage this season whereby Naby Keita would sink or swim. He was in danger of becoming Liverpool's forgotten man and the first major transfer failure of Jürgen Klopp's reign.

Having not started a single Premier League game in the first four months of the season, he grasped his opportunity against Bournemouth last weekend with an excellent goal and assist, offering ample encouragement to suggest he could be a real key figure over the festive period and beyond.

But there were moments last season where Keita looked to just be hitting his stride, only to fade back into the periphery again and struggle to gain any kind of sustained rhythm and form.

To be named in the starting lineup against Salzburg was somewhat surprising, but also an enormous show of faith from Klopp which demonstrated a willingness to ride his momentum from Bournemouth and use this as another opportunity to get quality minutes into his legs.

For one of the most important matches of the season so far, the safer choice would have been the experience and nous of James Milner, or maybe even Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but to keep Keita in the side to face his former club was a calculated risk on Klopp's part.

This was the version of Keita Liverpool paid £54m to sign from RB Leipzig. (Image: Photo by David Geieregger/SEPA.Media /Getty Images

And amid a frenetic, end-to-end first half in which both sides enjoyed several presentable opportunities, Keita gradually gained a foothold into the contest, picking up those pockets of space between the Salzburg midfield and back line, piercing the lines with his intelligent forward movement and incisive vertical passes.

He ought to have had an assist for Mohamed Salah as the Egyptian fluffed his lines at the end of a flowing counter-attacking move in the first-half, but it was further evidence of the intuative understanding and link-up these two footballers have now shown in consecutive games.

With the game still goalless and balanced delicately on a knife edge approaching the hour mark, it had all the potential in the world to make for a nail-biting finale.

That was, until Keita stepped up to make the breakthrough in the 57th minute, arriving late in the box to nod the ball home from Sadio Mané's dinked cross, as the two former Salzburg teammates combined to slice open their former club.

Two games, two goals, and all of a sudden it very much feels as if Liverpool have a brand new midfield general on their hands, a player who looks every inch the £54m footballer who earned such rave reviews at RB Leipzig.

Over the course of his 87 minute display, Keita managed 61 touches, making two key passes, winning eight ground duels, three tackles and completing 100 per cent of his four attempted dribble.

His guile and close control in tight spaces, along with his sharp acceleration over short distances to burst away from players, and his eye for a killer pass, means he offers a different dynamic to the rest of Klopp's midfield options, the rest of whom were also excellent on the night.

And while there were flashes of his quality on various occasions last season, these last two games have seen Keita look truly integrated into his role in the system, impressing with his work not just on the ball, but also out of possession, an area in which he was previously lacking.