By Lewis Bower (@lewisbower_)
Of course as with the most of preseason you can never read too much in to performance, with the focus being more on fitness. There’s also the commercial revenue to be gained and whatnot. But nevertheless, here’s my some of my interpretation of the fairly comfortable victory.
Joe Allen still lacks attacking composure
Throughout the whole of Allen’s Liverpool career he’s received a fluctuation in the assessments he has received from us fans. However, the one aspect that’s always remained under scrutiny is his lack of cutting edge and decisiveness in the final third. Let’s face it, 3 goals in 4 years is a poor return. He’s nearly in Lucas and Mikel territory while being deployed further forward. I saw nothing in his performance yesterday to suggest any significant change with several misplaces passes which he really should be making In that final third. It really makes a difference. I still have nightmare about the Everton miss. Maybe the failure to sign a DM has give a Rodgers the inclination to try him there (which explains the beard) as other than that, I see his Liverpool days are numbered as the midfield really is packed now, especially as it seems Tiexiera will get a chance.
Coutinhos not our only skillful player
One of the highlights of the game was, probably not as surprising these days, from the captain himself Jordan Henderson. His beautiful rabona pass taking several defenders out of the game and putting Lallana through on goal to score was quite simply breathtaking. It was out of nowhere, and if Coutinho himself was watching I’m sure he’d shed a tear. So that’s captaincy, the face of a Fifa 16 and a rabona assist. If Carlsberg planned a week of Football… This was unrecognizable in comparison to the unexpressive 20 year old we first signed. Model professional.
Last seasons ‘flops’ out to prove point
This preseason really is going to be vital for last summers signings. Most of which, without being too harsh, didn’t really work out. Most notably it was Markovic and Lallana who really upped their games. Markovic was one of the most senior players in what appeared to be a weakened side, if anyone was going to ignite the attack then players would look to him. He seemed to thrive with added responsibility and looked like creating or scoring every time we pushed forward. A really good attacking display was capped with a clever finish after rounding the keeper. The same can be said with Lallana, he seemed to be involved in all of our attacking moves. He also seemed to work well with Origi and brought him in to the game very well. Again, this paid of after he neatly finished Henderson magic. The confidence that these two will gain
from this could have a huge impact on the upcoming season, and with competition for places so intense in attacking areas hopefully this will take everyone’s performance to the next level.
The future really is bright
With the departure of Raheem Sterling people are talking about signing a ‘replacement’. However it could be such that we don’t need to sign anyone and just like the good old days we promoted from within such is the amount of talent we have in the academy. With a significant amount of academy players on the tour, it give them a chance to show fans what they can really do. And they did not look out of place one bit today. Teixiera not only showed that he has the healing capabilities of Jesus, but he really showed he has mounds of ability. At times he could have been mistakes for Coutinho. For me he was the standout performer out if the young crop. Not far behind was Joe Gomez who got himself up and down the touch line throughout the first half while remaining solid defensively. A special mention also goes to Maguire who is relatively unheard of, even for just a talented youngster who probably performed as well as Gomez. Everyone else performed really, this included Wisdom, Rossiter, and Ibe. We mustn’t forget that Markovic is only 20.
Striking problems?
Okay, so it’s obvious that we need a striker and I aren’t going to sit here and pretend w but the performance today will at least put Liverpool fans a little bit more at ease. I didn’t include Origi in the youngsters section as I believe he deserved his own section. The boy has the weight on his soldiers after a dismal season at Lille fans we’re already on his back. Today’s performance will of done home no harm as he ran himself in to the ground, linked up well and scored a bullet header. He reminds me of Balotelli if he applied himself. After hitting the post twice he had to persist before firing a header leaving the keeper stranded. His persistence shone through you might even say that… he showed great character. Then there was Danny Ings, in honesty his performance was similar but without the goal. You could see his experience compared to Origi as he made the more intelligent runs. He did score a real poachers goal though it was ruled out due to an apparent foul from Sakho. We’d love a striker to be signed, but you know you’re going to get 100% effort from these two lads.