Liverpool midfielder James Milner opens up on Rhian Brewster's development and what the talented young striker must now learn to succeed.
It was the perfect example of the self-belief coursing through the veins of Rhian Brewster – and confidence the Liverpool youngster is starting to breed among his team-mates.
After Ben Woodburn was shoved to the ground by Borussia Dortmund's Mateu Morey inside the area, thoughts immediately turned to who would take the resultant penalty with James Milner off the field.
Jordan Henderson didn't give it a second thought, though, throwing the ball to teenage striker Brewster who placed it on the spot, took a few steps back and then emphatically finished into the top corner.
A fourth goal in three pre-season games wasn't enough to prevent Liverpool from beginning their US tour with a 3-2 defeat at the Notre Dame Stadium on Friday.
But it further underlined how Brewster is in a hurry to make up for lost time having lost more than a year of his development through injury.
Indeed, Milner understands the unique pressures of breaking into the first team at an early age having been only 16 when handed his Premier League debut at Leeds United back in 2002.
“Rhian has probably is more outgoing and has got more confidence than I had,” says Milner, who at 33 is now the experienced head of the Liverpool squad.
“I think I had an inner belief and a quiet belief in myself whereas Rhian lets everyone know.
“That is fine as long as you are learning and you have that arrogance on the pitch, which he does, but then off the pitch he is the other side.
“To come in here and score goals in pre-season is great and it has given him a lift but now it is the start of it.
“He has got a great squad around him, he has learned off the manager and he needs to take everything in every day. Every day is an opportunity to prove himself and improve again.”
With forward trio Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane yet to return for pre-season, the US tour – which continues with a game against Sevilla at Fenway Park in Boston on Sunday – represents a further chance for Brewster to justify a burgeoning reputation that saw him on the Liverpool bench more than two years ago.
His goals, the ultimate currency for any striker, have inevitably commanded the headlines but it's his improving all-round play that is giving him a chance of making a long-awaited first-team bow when the season begins with the Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley on August 4.
“When you’re out for a long time from youth team football and you’re trying to get back to where he was, that’s hard enough,” says Milner.
“But Rhian's not trying to get back to where he was, he is trying to get back to a level to play for the first team and at a team that plays at a tempo like we do. It’s not easy.
“He’s trying to learn the position as well. We play different to a lot of other teams. Obviously he’s a different player to Bobby (Firmino) but he’s a goalscorer and that’s the hardest thing to do in football.”
Brewster highlighted Firmino in particular when revealing earlier this year that his spell on the sidelines allowed him to observe other strikers.
“There’s not many better strikers in the world to learn from than Bobby and watching him, how he does the defensive job and the runs he makes,” says Milner.
It was the perfect example of the self-belief coursing through the veins of Rhian Brewster – and confidence the Liverpool youngster is starting to breed among his team-mates.
After Ben Woodburn was shoved to the ground by Borussia Dortmund's Mateu Morey inside the area, thoughts immediately turned to who would take the resultant penalty with James Milner off the field.
Jordan Henderson didn't give it a second thought, though, throwing the ball to teenage striker Brewster who placed it on the spot, took a few steps back and then emphatically finished into the top corner.
A fourth goal in three pre-season games wasn't enough to prevent Liverpool from beginning their US tour with a 3-2 defeat at the Notre Dame Stadium on Friday.
But it further underlined how Brewster is in a hurry to make up for lost time having lost more than a year of his development through injury.
Indeed, Milner understands the unique pressures of breaking into the first team at an early age having been only 16 when handed his Premier League debut at Leeds United back in 2002.
“Rhian has probably is more outgoing and has got more confidence than I had,” says Milner, who at 33 is now the experienced head of the Liverpool squad.
“I think I had an inner belief and a quiet belief in myself whereas Rhian lets everyone know.
“That is fine as long as you are learning and you have that arrogance on the pitch, which he does, but then off the pitch he is the other side.
“To come in here and score goals in pre-season is great and it has given him a lift but now it is the start of it.
“He has got a great squad around him, he has learned off the manager and he needs to take everything in every day. Every day is an opportunity to prove himself and improve again.”
With forward trio Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane yet to return for pre-season, the US tour – which continues with a game against Sevilla at Fenway Park in Boston on Sunday – represents a further chance for Brewster to justify a burgeoning reputation that saw him on the Liverpool bench more than two years ago.
His goals, the ultimate currency for any striker, have inevitably commanded the headlines but it's his improving all-round play that is giving him a chance of making a long-awaited first-team bow when the season begins with the Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley on August 4.
“When you’re out for a long time from youth team football and you’re trying to get back to where he was, that’s hard enough,” says Milner.
“But Rhian's not trying to get back to where he was, he is trying to get back to a level to play for the first team and at a team that plays at a tempo like we do. It’s not easy.
“He’s trying to learn the position as well. We play different to a lot of other teams. Obviously he’s a different player to Bobby (Firmino) but he’s a goalscorer and that’s the hardest thing to do in football.”
Brewster highlighted Firmino in particular when revealing earlier this year that his spell on the sidelines allowed him to observe other strikers.
“There’s not many better strikers in the world to learn from than Bobby and watching him, how he does the defensive job and the runs he makes,” says Milner.
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