Crystal Palace flop Benteke reckons he would shine in Liverpool’s front line if he hadn’t left old club
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CRYSTAL PALACE flop Christian Benteke has bizarrely claimed he could do a job up front for old club Liverpool.
The Belgian forward, 31, was a total failure during his one-season spell at Anfield - scoring just ten times in 42 outings.
But despite the Reds drastically improving since then - now five points clear at the top of the Premier League - Benteke bizarrely still believes he could wrestle one of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah out of the team.
Liverpool's front-three under Jurgen Klopp is widely regarded as one of the best attacking partnerships in football.
Meanwhile, Benteke - who was sold in 2016, as Firmino was made the focal point of the attack - has struggled to nail down a regular spot in Roy Hodgson's Eagles XI.
The former Aston Villa man has scored 21 times in 96 outings for the Selhurst Park side - and hasn't found the net in 160 days, going back to the 3-2 win over Arsenal in April.
EXCUSES, EXCUSES
But when asked if he could do a job up front for Liverpool, Benteke told : "Yeah.
"It's easy to say now because I play for Palace and they play for Liverpool, but when you train every day with the same players and the manager believes in you, it's easier.
"People will say I'm making excuses, but everyone knows the club was going through a transition when I was there.
"If you compare the team from when I was there to the current team, I think there are only three, four players still in the first XI, most of them are new."
Benteke went on to blame Liverpool sacking Brendan Rodgers and bringing in Klopp for his demise - despite the club thriving under the German.
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The Belgian said: "I started well, but [Rodgers] was already under pressure from the previous season because they almost won the league and then Klopp came and everything changed.
"When he came to Liverpool he said: 'Sorry, I want to play different football I want to have a quick, small, sharp player'.
"I tried to fight for my spot, but at the end of the season he said: 'It's best if you find a new situation too, I won't hold you up.'"