In recent years, Bukayo Saka has developed a penchant of demolishing defenses. However, the winger for Arsenal might have unintentionally brought one Liverpool career to an unsatisfactory end.
In a battle for possession during the Reds’ match against the Gunners just before Christmas, Saka unintentionally sent Kostas Tsimikas flying and collided with Jurgen Klopp.
Tsimikas was sent to the hospital as a result, where it was determined that he had a broken collarbone. The Greece international then appeared in the Premier League quite infrequently.
Season finale ratings:
Alisson Becker
Trent Arnold Alexander
Ibrahima Konate
Luis Diaz
Cody Gakpo
Darwin Nunez
Harvey Elliott
Van Dijk, Virgil
Diogo Jota
It summed up a difficult season for Tsimikas, who started the season well behind Andy Robertson in the left-back hierarchy and ended up with Joe Gomez ahead of him as well.
Prior to Robertson’s shoulder injury sustained while on international duty opening the door for regular first-team appearances, Tsimikas had only made one four-minute appearance in the Premier League in the first eight games, although starting two Europa League games and the League Cup victory over Leicester City.
Due to Tsimikas’ need for rhythm, it took him some time to warm up, which resulted in a subpar performance in the Europa League match against Toulouse. But that was a turning point, as he helped the team defeat Brentford with two assists a few days later. He had played well in the draw against Manchester City and looked impressive before getting caught by the sloppy Saka.
Even though he was only gone for six weeks, it was enough time for the surroundings to have altered by the time he returned. With Robertson back to full fitness and Gomez playing well at left back, Tsimikas has only made three substitute appearances for a total of 13 minutes in the last 15 Premier League games.
Tsimikas made a few starts in the cups, but even if he wasn’t the only player to have a shocking loss against Atalanta at home in the Europa League quarterfinal, the fact that he was replaced at halftime highlighted his lack of energy and sharpness.
Additional ratings
Mac Allister Alexis
Jarell Quansah
Andy Roberts
Endo Wataru
Dominik Szoboszlai
Mohamed Salah
Jones, Curtis
Joe Gomez
Bradley Conor
Coming off the bench in the League Cup final against Chelsea and completing an outstanding cameo by supplying the corner from which Virgil van Dijk headed the thrilling late winner was Tsimikas’s season high point. However, that was one of the few bright spots in a challenging second half of the campaign.
For Tsimikas, then, this summer may be interesting. Even though he only signed a new, long-term contract in September, it will take new head coach Arne Slot’s squad evaluation to see where he fits into the left-back rotation. Despite being a highly regarded team member, Tsimikas may determine that, at this point in his career, he needs regular first-team football at the age of 28.
The coming months will be crucial in determining how Liverpool’s Greek Scouser develops as an Anfield player.
Season-ending evaluation: 5
