It might be that with such a big squad, there could be two separate eleven’s that need to get 90 minutes in their legs a week before the first game. My issue is that my wife won’t believe me that I need to watch Liverpool two days in a row.
the bigger issue is that you haven’t turned her into an LFC fan who also wants to watch the games! oh wait - maybe that’s a good thing for your own mental sanity. Haha.
Haha! Must watch anyways! Despite being two shortened mini games I'm desperate to see any version of the Reds in action again so I'm really looking forward to it.
v Wacker Innsbruck: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Matip. B. Davies, Beck, Clarkson, Morton, Cain, Gordon, Origi, Minamino. v Stuttgart: Adrian, Bradley, Konate, R. Williams, Tsimikas, Milner, Keita, Elliott, Mane, Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain. Subs for both matches: H. Davies, Wilson, N. Williams, Koumetio.
Looks like an A team and a B team, besides Trent and Matip who are with the B team. Looks like Ox will play the Firmino role between Salah and Mane.
Origi pen to open the preseason ... video https://www.empireofthekop.com/2021...irst-goal-of-pre-season-after-dodgy-decision/
Liverpool v Osasuna will take place on August 9th. Liverpool have announced an Anfield tribute match for Republic of Ireland international Michael Robinson, who passed away in April of last year. The match against La Liga side Osasuna will pit two of Robinson’s former clubs against each other and will take place on Monday, August 9th. Robinson enjoyed an 18-month spell with Liverpool, coming on as a substitute in the club’s European Cup Final win over AS Roma in 1984. He also picked up a league winner’s medal during his time at Anfield. He moved on to Queens Park Rangers before arriving at Spanish club CA Osasuna in 1987, where he would spend two-and-a-half years as a player, scoring 12 goals in 58 La Liga appearances
ratings from the Echo .... Loris Karius 6 Somewhat of a forgotten man at Anfield, Karius hasn't played competitively since the Champions League final in 2018, and was largely untroubled. Should have done better with Ronivaldo's header, though. Trent Alexander-Arnold 6 Back fit after a summer of rehabilitation, the West Derby-born defender slung in a handful of teasing deliveries from dead-balls. A gentle re-introduction to the team after his injury. A lot more to come from the England international. Joel Matip 7 First appearance since January and looked calm and assured at the back. One of Liverpool's standout trainers so far in Austria, this was an important half hour for the centre-back. Ben Davies 6 The lesser-spotted Davies was making his first appearance of any kind since a move from Preston in January. One excellent interception stopped Wacker getting in on the counter in a three-v-one situation. These were much needed minutes in a Liverpool shirt. Owen Beck 6 Fresh from a new contract earlier this month, the left-back tried to get forward when he could but was left exposed in a two-v-one situation for the equaliser. Almost whipped in a late winner on his trusty left foot. Leighton Clarkson 6 Classy, ball-playing midfielder looked like he enjoyed himself. Spoke of the need to take on responsibility pre-match and was always willing to take the ball in whatever area of the pitch demanded it. Tyler Morton 6 Thundered into one tackle down by the touchline and showed off a wonderful pirouette to keep possession in midfield. Lovely pass to Minamino down the left almost got him in behind. Jake Cain 7 Closed down spaces well and denied Wacker any time on the ball in midfield. One superb, goal-bound strike was blocked late on. Kaide Gordon 8 A January arrival from Derby County, the 16-year-old played himself nicely out of trouble near the corner flag at one stage and went close with one effort. A very lively cameo from a young player with a bright future. Divock Origi 6 Dispatched a penalty with pretty much his first touch and ran the channels gamely. Not quite as sharp as he has been in the past, however. That should come in time. A big summer awaits for the Belgian. Takumi Minamino 7 Japan international was making his first Liverpool appearance since a mid-season loan switch to Southampton. Kept himself busy and looked sharp with the ball at his feet. Another player who needs a strong pre-season.
Yeah I thought Kaide Gordon was the best for us too . He looks very assured for such a young player. Also embarrassed the lb a few times including a sweet nut meg.
The young lads played well in the first game and held their own v a more experienced team. In the second match which featured a much stronger Lfc eleven versus tougher Stuttgart side it was a more disjointed game with many of the lads looked like they were trying to shake off the rust. Salah missed a good opportunity early on and should have opened the scoring. The best for us were Tsimakas who really had a strong game and Harvey Elliott . I think Elliott will become a dominant player as he matures. Even at such a young age he demands the ball out there and his distribution is very good.
player ratings vs Stuttgart, from the Echo ..... Adrian 6 Did his best to prevent the goal in darting off his line at speed and didn't deserve any of the blame. Cleaned up balls over the top well. Conor Bradley 6 Aggressive in his positioning on that right flank and always quick to press whenever Liverpool lost it down his side. Ibrahima Konate 6 Will wish he had got a little tighter to Sasa Kalajdzic for Stuttgart's goal but did really well in holding that high defensive line to consistently catch the Germans offside. Rhys Williams 6 Looked to win the ball high up the pitch and didn't always judge it right but enjoyed a good and important runout. Kosta Tsimikas 8 Constantly supported attacks down the left and got his rewards with an assist for Mane. Also made a couple of eye-catching defensive contributions. James Milner 7 Worked his socks off and set the tempo as you'd expect before picking out a beauty of a ball for Tsimikas to set up the equaliser. Naby Keita 7 Showcased his dribbling skills and eye for a pass in picking up the ball regularly in an advanced position. Could be such an important player if he stays fit. Harvey Elliott 8 Saw plenty of the ball in an unfamiliar midfield role and did a lot with it, too. Always has his head up looking to create and looks a good fit for a central role. Sadio Mane 8 Evidenced his sharpness by almost catching the keeper in possession early on and was a livewire throughout. Deserved his goal, which came from as close range as it gets. Mohamed Salah 6 Produced an uncharacteristic miss from a one-on-one but was otherwise in strong form. Like Mane, he looks to have benefited hugely from a rare summer off. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 Looks a really good fit for the false nine role he occupied here. Showed some Firmino-esque touches in build-up and should have had an assist for Salah early doors.
I agree with this assessment. Kaide Gordon was really fun to watch in the first half. I didn’t know much about him before today. He’s only 16 and we spent 3 million to get him from Derby. I hope to see more or him on Friday. The other highlights of the first game were that Trent was fit enough to play, Ben Davies really exists, and Clarkson was tidy in midfield. In the 2nd game, we should have scored two minutes in. Keita played a great ball through to Ox who perfectly setup Salah, but Mo didn’t finish. Keita looked good. It’s nice to see him fit. I’ll try not to get carried away like I do with him every preseason, but there is still a world in which he can be an even better midfielder than any of these players we are being linked with. His actual performances have never been the problem. I’m no longer expecting him to have a big season, but the possibility is still there. It was interesting to see that Ox was picked to play in the Firmino role while Elliot played in central midfield. Both did well. Looking forward to seeing more of that. The other standout was Tsimikas. He looked good on both ends of the pitch and got an assist.
Slightly different view from the Fail on a couple of players, but they agree on Tsimi. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...rpools-two-pre-season-friendlies-Austria.html
I was able to catch these games on LFCTV as well, and I guess my biggest takeaway was that I don't really like the 30 min mini-games. They were way too short to really see the teams get organized. Or maybe that was because the two sides we put out were still pretty rusty. A few things I noticed were: Karius still can't get his positioning right, and had he not drifted so far towards the play he'd likely have been able to stop the header by the Wakkers... But it wasn't only his fault on that play, I thought Matip was a bit shaky to be honest. I think it was his misplaced pass that put us under pressure in the leadup to that play. Elliot was putting in beautiful crosses all game, but there just wasn't anyone in the box to finish. Would have liked to see a bit more from Oxlade-Chamberlain there... I'll also agree that Tsimikas really looked good in the second game. Let's hope he can press Robertson a bit and then we can have a true backup left back. Also in the second game it looked like we were playing a 4-4-2? It would be nice to see us line up in some different formations this year, just to keep the opposition on their toes... Other than that I saw a lot of heavy legs from our guys, but it was good to see them in action again.