DECLAN RICE’S first start at Anfield saw him subbed at half-time and then dropped to West Ham’s Under-23s.
On Saturday the England star will play in front of the Kop as arguably the most highly-valued player on the pitch.
Rice was subbed off at half-time in his first appearance at Anfield
The 23-year-old now returns to Liverpool’s ground as one of the most expensive players on the pitch
You could make a case for Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Diogo Jota but at 23, Rice is younger than all of them.
To many he will soon become the best holding midfielder in the world, if he is not already.
Looking back to that miserable opening day to the 2018-19 campaign shows just how far the 23-year-old has come.
Rice had already played 32 first-team games by the time Manuel Pellegrini’s first fixture as Irons manager rolled around.
The Chilean started him at Liverpool alongside Jack Wilshere and Mark Noble, but with his team already 2-0 down at the break, he decided to haul off the youngest of the three.
The Reds went on to win 4-0 with Sadio Mane scoring twice, and after the game Pellegrini sent Rice down to the reserves.
Rice’s reaction shows just why he is one of the best players in England right now.
Instead of sulking, as many would have, he showed the kind of attitude that serves as a shining example to any youngster dealing with a setback out there.
Liam Manning, currently the boss of MK Dons but West Ham’s Under-23s manager at the time, recalled: “Dec was the first one out to training and was carrying bags of balls out.
“He had the same enthusiasm, the same standards and the same respect for the group and for the staff. He was the one at the end who was helping get in the gear as well.”
It did not take long for Rice to win back his place in the Hammers first-team under Pellegrini, and he has taken his game to new heights under David Moyes.
He has been the driving force behind West Ham’s bid for the Champions League, with some believing the East London side’s chances of keeping him being dependent on whether they qualify for Europe’s premier club competition or not.
Victory today would go a long way to achieving that, as unlikely as that seems given the recent form of Jurgen Klopp’s quadruple-chasers.
The Reds, who last weekend won the Carabao Cup, have lost just once since their 3-2 defeat at West Ham in November.
And with new recruit Luis Diaz integrating seamlessly into an already frightening attack, it is hard to see ex-Everton chief Moyes pulling off a shock.
If it does somehow happen, Rice will no doubt have played an essential part – unlike his August afternoon to forget four years ago.
