'What a player' - Former Anfield icon singles out Liverpool star who impressed him vs Man City

The main talking point of Liverpool's clash with Manchester City is whether the Reds should have been awarded a penalty to potentially snag a stoppage time winner. The VAR call deeming Jérémy Doku to have played the ball before striking Alexis Mac Allister in the chest has sparked a lot of debate among fans and professionals alike.

Jurgen Klopp was adamant his side should have benefitted from a spot-kick and former referee Mark Clattenburg also agreed that VAR made an error and should have ruled in Liverpool's favour. There is no doubt that this controversial event will be pulled up in most title discussions between now and the end of the season.

But underneath the penalty debate, Liverpool put in a huge shift as they pushed City right to the very end in search of a winning goal. Former Anfield icon Lucas Leiva took to Twitter after the match to praise Wataru Endō, who is settling nicely into his role as Klopp's new first choice defensive midfielder.

"What a player you are, makes the team keep going and connecting all the time," Lucas wrote after Endō was named the Player of the Match for his efforts against the reigning champions.

The 31-year-old signed for the Reds in August for £16.2 million as Klopp scrambled to bring in a replacement for Fabinho. Talks with top targets Roméo Lavia and Moisés Caicedo had broken down, with both opting to join Chelsea instead, leaving Liverpool with little time left to recruit.

As he wasn't a first choice option for the Reds and his start to life in the Premier League was slow, many wondered whether Endō was the right fit. However, the Japanese international has started to relax into his new team and his performance against City really put him in the spotlight.

According to Sofascore, Endō completed 95 percent of his passes and made four tackles, two interceptions, two clearances and also contributed one key pass as the Reds pushed to take maximum points from their rivals.