Jonjo Shelvey was a surprise inclusion in the Liverpool starting lineup, but you might want to get used to seeing him there. He was praised by fans and coaches alike for his all-action debut as a Liverpool starter (in league play) Sunday.
"It was obviously his first start," manager Kenny Dalglish said. "He did really well. He must've been a little bit nervous but he settled down really quickly."
Dalglish put Shelvey in position to succeed. He deployed the attacking midfielder in his best position — centrally behind Luis Suarez – and was repayed with a composed and confident performance from the 19-year-old.
Shelvey didn't look out of place among his more experienced colleagues. Craig Bellamy aside, each of his teammates has played in most of LFC's games this season and developed an understanding that only comes from playing together.
Shelvey's inclusion took nothing away from the Reds' familiar tempo. In fact, his simple passes and effective play in transition helped keep the Villa defense unbalanced for much of the afternoon. His back-heel flick led to LFC's opening goal in the 11th minute. He also could have scored on pair of second-half opportunites that did not bounce his way.
The former Charlton talent spent two months (October and November) on loan at Blackpool, playing 10 games in the Championship (second division) for the seaside club. He did a fine job there and even won the Football League's Young Player of the Month award in November. He was originally set to remain there through the calendar year, but Lucas' injury prompted an early recall. Dalglish thinks the action was key to his good performance against English Premier League opponents.
"Last year he came on as a sub a couple of times for us and he picked up the game very quickly. It was natural progress for him to go to Blackpool this year, which is a little higher up than reserve team football. He did really well there for a few games and he's been back training with us for a few weeks now.
"Because of the situation Jay (Spearing) was in and Lucas (Leiva) was in, we thought it was a good idea to bring him back. He's done particularly well and can be very pleased with his first start."
Liverpool fans had something to say about his game. And it was pretty good.
Review all the action from Sunday's game in our Liverpool Live Blog.
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Photo via LiverpoolFC.tv
