Crystal Palace flop Benteke reckons he could get into Liverpool’s starting XI if he was still at old club – The Sun

CRYSTAL PALACE flop Christian Benteke has bizarrely claimed he could get into Liverpool's starting XI if he was still at his old club.

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 – if not 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 a mere 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 in the Liverpool starting XI, Benteke oddly told SPORTbible: "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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