Liverpool finished their pre-season in style with a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao that really, could’ve been more had chances been taken.
What a way to end the summer pre-season preparations.
That was the fourth time in Liverpool’s nine pre-season fixtures they managed to score three or more goals and really, it could’ve – and should’ve – been more had some chances been taken with a bit more confidence. There was, unfortunately, no clean sheet to speak of but in the end, it didn’t really matter.
As always there were a number of positives to take from the victory and some will no doubt have Klopp pondering his selection choices during the early weeks of the season.
Solanke burns bright while Origi fizzles out
Dominic Solanke just continues to impress.
The former Chelsea youngster got on the score sheet for the third time this pre-season as he put some gloss on the scoreline with a bullet header late on. The Englishman has impressed massively for the Reds during the summer and his goal – to add to his strikes against Crystal Palace and Hertha Berlin – will have done his chances of staking a first-team claim no harm.
Divock Origi on the other hand, seems to regress more by the day.
The Belgian once again struggled to contribute much of positive note throughout his 45 minutes on the field and he’s becoming more and more of a worry by the game. His afternoon was probably best summed up by his one-on-one miss after being played through beautifully by Firmino.
All the talk is of whether Solanke or Ings will be sent out on a loan move but one feels that perhaps, it might serve Origi best.
‘Play F*cking football!’
While the Reds ran out 3-1 winners on the day and played some seriously beautiful football out on the pitch, it wasn’t enough for manager Jürgen Klopp to be completely satisfied with his side’s efforts.
The German could be heard screaming from the touchline time and again with one notable phrase – “play f*cking football!” – in particular catching the ears as Emre Can held onto the ball for far too long.
The Reds’ passing during pre-season has been breath taking to watch at times, with the game against Bayern Munich providing perhaps the best example. The zip and flair that the club’s attacking players possess is a joy to behold and it’s evidently something that Klopp holds in high regard.
The manager definitely wants his players performing as one well-oiled, hard to beat machine this coming campaign and slick passing moves are going to be a highly important part of that.
Midfield Milner
When James Milner signed for Liverpool it was because he was promised to be used in central midfield by Brendan Rodgers. Two years, a stint as a winger and one long period of time spent as a left-back later and he’s finally back in the position… for now.
The Englishman was started as part of a midfield three against Bilbao more out of necessity than choice with Jordan Henderson (illness), Adam Lallana (thigh injury) and Philippe Coutinho (back complaint) all missing the trip to Dublin.
The Reds’ vice-captain admittedly didn’t particularly impress in his second midfield outing since the turn of the year and with Moreno looking surprisingly capable at left-back of late, Firmino on penalties and Henderson’s fitness looking good, he could find his position in jeopardy.
Firmino back to his best?
There was a period last season where Roberto Firmino looked completely bereft of form, confidence, fitness and rhythm. Well, now it looks like his summer break has been very kind to him.
The Brazilian was once again superb against Bilbao, not only winning the penalty in the first half but scoring it confidently to put the Reds 1-0 up – an interesting development given Milner was on the field at the time – and knitting play superbly between the midfield and the attack.
The forward has just got better and better with each passing fixture this pre-season, especially since an impressive performance against Leicester in Hong Kong and I personally cannot wait to see him given an extended run back in his role as Liverpool’s false nine this season.
19 goals, 7 wins… A successful summer on the pitch
Off the pitch, there’s no hiding that Liverpool’s summer has been awfully underwhelming and genuinely has a lot of room to improve. When it comes to players who could improve the starting XI simply by walking into it, only Mohamed Salah has been signed and while Solanke and Robertson have impressed so far, they’re not Klopp’s priority targets.
A new central midfielder is definitely of need with Adam Lallana’s recent injury leaving the Reds looking short-handed in the position – and of course, the injury histories of both Emre Can and Jordan Henderson aren’t exactly encouraging – while a central defender should’ve been the number one priority from day one.
On the field, however, it’s been a successful summer.
The Reds have only lost one of their pre-season friendlies – on penalties to Atletico Madrid – drawing one and winning the rest, scoring 19 goals in the process from a variety of different sources. Solanke, Sturridge, Firmino, Salah, Coutinho, Mané, Woodburn, Chirivella and Wijnaldum were all among the goal scorers this summer and that’ll be of great encouragement to Klopp.
While the defence could certainly do with some extra work, Andrew Robertson has looked a shrewd acquisition while ‘TAA’ and Joe Gomez have both also been impressive when called upon.
The real test comes next Saturday at Vicarage Road and there are still things to be taken care of both on and off the pitch but Klopp will be feeling confident. The groundwork has been done, the foundations laid… Now it’s time to put it all together.
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