Liverpool midfielder Takumi Minamino was handed a rare start by Jurgen Klopp for the Reds' game against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon but he did very little to repay the German manager's faith.

The Japanese international was starting just his first Premier League game of the season against Graham Potter's side but produced a very disappointing display.

As per SofaScore, the 25-year-old picked up a match rating of 5.8, ranking him as the worst player on the pitch from both sides.

His passing was fairly accurate throughout the match, as he registered a pass accuracy rate of 82%, with 40/49 of his efforts finding a Liverpool teammate.

However, his defensive contribution was less than impressive, as of the 10 duels he was involved in during the game, he was able to win just one.

He was also dribbled past on four occasions, whilst he lost possession 14 times during the match, suggesting that he was often second-best when battling with the Brighton players.

The former RB Salzburg man was also wasteful when presented with the opportunity to create, as his one cross during the game was inaccurate, whilst of his six long balls, only one found its mark.

It was surprising therefore that Klopp opted to substitute Mohamed Salah in the first-half, whilst keeping Minamino on for the entirety of the game.

The 25-year-old hasn't really lived up to expectations since joining the Anfield outfit in January of this year, having made 26 appearances in all competitions, scoring three times and assisting once (per Transfermarkt).

Earlier in the season, Klopp was full of praise for the Japanese international after his performance in the win against Ajax, saying:

"You saw they were fresher, they were the hardest working. It’s a bit of a shame that Diogo didn’t score, Shaq was lively and Taki is a machine.

"He’s everywhere, he defends like a devil and then offensively he’s really involved. Nice one-twos together with Diogo on the side where they came into the box." (per Metro)

However, his performance today was far from that previous standard, and Klopp will surely think twice about selecting him from the start in the Reds' next fixture, which sees them take on Ajax again in the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday.

And, in other news... Liverpool must cash in on "outstanding" 23 y/o wizard while his stock is high