Luton midfielder labelled 'absolutely sensational' by MOTD 2 pundit following starring display against Liverpool

Luton midfielder Ross Barkley was labelled as ‘absolutely sensational’ by Match of the Day 2 pundit Glenn Murray after his starring performance against Liverpool last night.

The 29-year-old was making his second successive start for the Hatters, and gave a terrific display as one of the deep-lying midfielders alongside Marvelous Nakamba during the 1-1 draw.

He topped the individual stats for Rob Edwards’ side on the evening, having 61 touches and 38 passes, with a completion rate of 75 percent, also winning possession back 10 times, making three tackles and running 11.3km, ranked number one for any Luton player throughout the entire 90 minutes.

Discussing his efforts, former Brighton and Crystal Palace forward Murray said: “Watching today I thought he was absolutely sensational for Luton.

"He was composed, put his foot on the ball at important times and if you don’t do that against the big teams they just have more and more possession.

"Obviously Liverpool did have the lion’s share of possession but when he did get the ball he kept it and that is so, so important when you’re up against the top sides.”

Barkley was also absolutely pivotal to Town taking the lead on 80 minutes as when a corner broke to him on the edge of the box, rather than boot the ball to safety, he was able to dribble away from Kostas Tsimika on the edge of his own box and get Luton on the attack.

With Ibrahima Konate bearing down on him, the England international still had the presence of mind and quality to play the perfectly weighted pass out to team-mate Issa Kabore, who in turn delivered a pinpoint cross that Tahith Chong tucked away to send the home fans into dreamland.

Murray continued: “Any other Luton player gets rid of this through sheer panic, but he doesn’t, he has the composure to step out and then from that point on it’s just beautiful.

"He as brilliant, he was immense throughout and look at how many men they’ve committed forward.

"For them to be able to sense that and implement this, it sent Kenilworth Road into raptures.

“He didn’t shirk his responsibilities going the other way either, late on in the game, putting in a real shift and basically leading by example.

"Just having the awareness to turn, he released that pressure, he dictated play throughout the afternoon.”

Fellow pundit, ex-Manchester United forward Dion Dublin, was also suitably impressed, saying: “An old head, senior pro, very experienced.

"He just seemed to pick the right pass at the right time and he never seemed to panic.

"Whatever situation he was in, the weight of the pass was good, he just keeps it really simple.

"He doesn’t mind doing the dirty work as well and throughout the game he put himself in a position in front of his two centre halves, but picking out passes just to get his team on the front foot moving forward.”

Having picked up an injury at the start of the season, Barkley now starting to show exactly why the Hatters made him one of their big name signings of the summer, completing back-to-back 90 minutes in the Premier League for the first time since November 2020, when on loan at Aston Villa from Chelsea.

Always eager to get on the ball, his ability to receive it in tight areas, jink away from a marker and get Luton moving was noticeable throughout.

He might even have had a goal to show for his efforts too, one shot straight at Reds keeper Alisson and the other blazed over the top from 20 yards.

Speaking about his performance, boss Rob Edwards added: “That’s what he can give us, what I thought we were brilliant at was when we won the ball back, we didn’t kick it straight back.

"We knew we had to make two or three passes, we knew we had to accept the ball under pressure, very rarely, maybe towards the end when we were defending a lot deeper, very rarely did we just kick it straight back to Liverpool.

"We accepted the pressure, accepted their press and Ross is a big part of that.

"He’s able to wriggle out of pressure, find a space, and we retained a threat.

"Chieo’s (Ogbene) pace is the obvious one, but by making those two or three passes and finding some space, it retained a threat in the game.

"So Liverpool were still thinking, they’ve got a bit of something there, and it wasn’t just complete dominance all the time in our half.”