Having established himself as a cult favourite in the fixture against Manchester United last season, Shaqiri finds himself ruled out on the sidelines this time around.
On Sunday Liverpool travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. The fixture has thrown up some spine tingling and fierce battles in the past and Liverpool will be hoping to secure the bragging rights against their rivals once more. United have had a pitiful start to their Premier League campaign but they will put up a fight and endeavour to end their Merseyside rivals one hundred percent record in the league. It promises to be a fearsome showdown.
One man who will not be competing for the spoils is the Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri who finds himself derailed in his quest to establish himself as a Liverpool regular and languishing in the side-lines nursing a calf injury.
Almost a year ago it was Liverpool’s number 23 who came out on trumps against the Reds’ arch rivals orchestrating a stunning substitute cameo in which he netted twice to help secure Liverpool the win.
With his two strikes against Liverpool’s arch rivals he effectively ended the Mourinho era at United and heralded the even less successful Ole Gunnar Solskjaer period.
Shaqiri’s performance on that cold December night at Anfield was seen as turning point. Playing as part of the midfield three, the Swiss man nicknamed for his bulky frame as ‘big Shaq’, ran rings around the United defence and drove Liverpool’s attack.
He seemed to be the perfect replacement for the long-term injury of Oxlade-Chamberlain and the out of form Naby Keita as the glue between the midfield and the attack.
Less than a year later however Shaqiri still finds himself in a limbo between the bench and the starting eleven. In fact more recently, the Swiss midfielder has been forced to watch proceedings from the bench even when fit.
Only a month ago Jurgen Klopp made it clear that he still sees Shaqiri as a key member of Liverpool’s first team:
‘We will need him, he knows that 100 per cent.’
Though that promise is yet to be fulfilled with Shaqiri having played just 11 minutes of Premier League action this season.
With the return of Oxlade-Chamberlain and the imminent return of Naby Keita, Shaqiri finds himself a considerable way down the pecking order.
Having missed out on the League Cup tie against MK Dons due to injury, Liverpool’s new 16-year-old starlet Harvey Elliot capitalised on the opportunity in Shaqiri’s place and caught the eye in an impressive performance against the Milton Keynes side giving Shaqiri even more competition.
With Liverpool’s added strength in-depth Shaqiri finds himself in a predicament.
He has never established himself as a regular but ‘big Shaq’ has become a somewhat cult favourite with the reds when he has featured.
Aside from the diminutive midfielder’s double against Manchester United, Shaqiri played a vital role in the game against Barcelona last season at Anfield coming in for the injured Mohamed Salah and assisting Georginio Wijnaldum’s second goal to tie the game level.
His six league goals last season was not a bad return for a fringe player. Shaqiri himself is hopeful his time will come again this season and has told Swiss newspaper Schweizer Illustriete how he has not regretted his move to Liverpool:
‘Not for a second have I regretted the move to Liverpool. Many wrote me off in Stoke, but who can claim to have switched from a relegated side to a Champions League winner?’
Shaqiri is a clever player, his technique, vision and skill can still be a valuable asset for Liverpool and the Swiss international seems content to be waiting in line as a back-up for now.
Time will tell for how long Shaqiri will remain upbeat about his role, however as it stands Liverpool would struggle to find a more adequate and quality back-up. Shaqiri’s versatility enables him to play on the wing in place of the Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as well as in the midfield three.
With the imminent fixture congestion about to engulf Liverpool, he will surely get his opportunity again and if he continues to impress, Shaqiri will have the chance the to fight himself into the reckoning once more.