Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer is of the view that Naby Keita still needs to learn the defensive side of the game in order to play in the big clashes.

Keita’s time at Liverpool has been a struggle and he is yet to cement a place in the starting eleven in Jurgen Klopp’s side despite the big feel attached to his name.  

 



The midfielder has come into form over the last week and has scored in back-to-back games against Bournemouth and Red Bull Salzburg for the Reds.

McAteer believes that those were two good games to play in for the Guinea international as the opponents gave him the spaces he likes to get into and he thrived on the open nature of the encounters.
 


But the former Red feels that Keita still needs to do a lot of convincing in terms of the defensive side of the game if he is to feature regularly in the big games against teams who like to keep the ball.



McAteer said on LFC TV after the match in Austria: “What I would say for Naby is that they have been two good games for him in the sense that they have been open.

“How he likes to play in that space and it was there for him to exploit.
 

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“But when you have got defensive duties when you play against [Manchester] City or Chelsea, or a team that likes to keep possession, he has to switch on and do this defensive side of things.

“That’s what he has to learn.”

The 24-year-old will hope to retain his place in the coming weeks on the face of heavy competition for places in the Liverpool midfield.