Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Besiktas forward discusses Liverpool exit and life in Turkey

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain discusses his abrupt exit from Liverpool and life with Besiktas in Turkey; 'Ox' still admires Mohamed Salah and is impressed with Reds midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai; difficulties with living away from family and how the 'mental side is tougher than physical side'

Senior Reporter

Tuesday 5 December 2023 11:59, UK

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked the ball up on the half turn on the edge of the centre circle and carried it forward — at speed, with the strength symbolic of his nickname. He shifted inside, taking three of five markers out of the game, but found himself in a more crowded area just outside the box.

Nihad Mujakic tried to block a shot, but he rolled out the red carpet for Oxlade-Chamberlain to fire a low rocket through his legs and into the bottom corner. That goal on Sunday was a throwback to the midfielder at his dynamic best, but it was also a warming moment having discussed such strikes with him earlier in the week.

In a cabin framed by waterfalls on Besiktas' expansive training campus, Sky Sports News caught up on the past, dissected the present and imagined the future with Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Does he get pangs when his explosive goals for Liverpool resurface on social media? «When I see them I think, 'I need to do that again, what's going on?' They definitely live on in your memory, but when you're still playing and then there's a game on the weekend, it's more looking at, 'Okay, how did I do that? What did I do? How can I do that again at the weekend?'

»It is obviously nice to see those things when they pop up and just a little reminder that it's you and your capabilities. If I haven't done that for a while, it's more a