Xherdan Shaqiri hits back at Gary Neville criticism

Switzerland international Xherdan Shaqiri has hit back at the criticism labelled by Gary Neville earlier in the year. The Manchester United legend had suggested that the attacker was ‘unprofessional’ and ‘inconsistent’ after he made the surprise switch to Liverpool from Stoke City in July but he has since managed to outdo his expectations with the new club.

Moreover, he has also starred for the national team and he most recently grabbed a couple of assists in the shock 5-2 comeback triumph over Belgium which ensured their progress into the Nations League finals. Speaking after that game, Shaqiri said: "Not at all. I do not care what he says [Neville]. I do not care if he says now that I'm playing hard. Many have ridiculed after the transfer that Liverpool is too big for me. But I was always calm, too, when I got little playing time in the beginning. I knew, of course, because of the experience at Bayern and Inter, that I have to be patient, work focused and then take my chance when I get it."

Shaqiri has been a regular on the bench during the opening months of the new season but he has managed to win a starting position after a series of impressive displays. At present, he has contributed a goal or an assist in five of the club’s previous six matches and he appears pretty much certain to maintain the position when the Reds make the trip to Watford over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are meeting the expectations from the start of the season and so far,
“they are within striking distance of league leaders Manchester City with just a two-point gap.“Nonetheless, they have the occasional tendency of dropping points against teams in mid-table and that is something they need to avoid through “the campaign to seriously “ challenge for the title during the second half of the campaign.