:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45789418/GettyImages_463883368.0.jpg)
The continued brilliance of Emre Can and return of Jordon Ibe were among the more popular storylines in the early days of 2015, and while both were deserving of the attention they received, they also conspired to distract from the resurgence of Alberto Moreno. Restored to the starting eleven in a wingback role on the left, the summer signing has blossomed, and in recent weeks he's been among Liverpool's most consistent performers.
He followed up his match-changing cameo against Southampton with a man of the match display on Thursday night in Istanbul, giving Besiktas fits from the first minute to the last, contributing at both ends and often finding himself at the heart of anything good that was happening for Liverpool. It seemed clear from the opening whistle that the young Spanish fullback was set for a solid night, and he followed it up for most of the next 120 minutes.
At 22 years old he's only going to get better, and already this season improvement is evident. His defending and positioning--altered slightly from his duties earlier in the season by the system Brendan Rodgers has implemented--have come on in leaps and bounds, and he poses a constant threat getting forward at pace. In the first leg it was Jordon Ibe that Besiktas found unplayable, but in the second leg it was Moreno with a shift that was rightly lauded in all corners as the best on the night.
Moreno is comfortably placed among an impressive collection of young talent in this Liverpool squad, and he's one that has appeared to respond well to his new surroundings and intensive instruction. In a position that has caused Liverpool plenty of questions over the past decade, Alberto Moreno has started to assert himself as an answer, and that's an encouraging sign in a season full of promise for the coming years.
