Liverpool 2 - 0 Crystal Palace:
In the second and final game of our Asia Tour the reds stepped things up a notch in this friendly against Palace.. The big guns had been back a little longer. The squad has had a few more training sessions and things looked a lot calmer in game.
The team selection this time around was two very strong elevens playing pretty much a half each with the young lads playing out the last ten minutes to gain more valuable minutes and experience in front of a 50,000 strong crowd.
Hendo:
The game started how it pretty much panned out for the whole 90 minutes. Liverpool set up solid and looked a bit more controlled in their play unlike the previous outing against United. They kept the ball better which you need to do in this heat. Constant pass and move and an all round professional display.
This allowed us to be more patient and creative in our attacking play of which was rewarded early on when Hendo put us one up. A long ball from Milner.. A dummy from Jo-El freed up the impressive Harvey Elliott who cut back for the captain to curl in to the far corner. Simplicity at its best.
Mo:
The game carried on in a similar vein. Possession.. Nice passing and probing patient attacks. Bobby & Harvey missing a couple of efforts they could have easily converted before the break. Which ended on a bit of a downer when The Ox was taken off with a muscle injury.
The second half started with a totally different line up and it started pretty quick. Trent & Salah were linking up really well in what could be another exciting dynamic to look forward to this season. Very quick one touch passes and movement which Palace (and indeed anyone would have) struggled to deal with.
Mo made it 2 for the reds after some quick play he wriggled in to the box and curled a trade mark yet slightly deflected shot into the net.. Nunez & Carvalho who lined up in the front three with Mo also looked sharper. Nunez unlucky not to have got on the score sheet with a close range effort after great play from Mo freed the striker up.
Carvalho also tested the keeper with a low curled effort after cutting in from the right hand side.. There were plenty of positives to take again from this pre season friendly. In particular the new signings look really settled and look a real threat. Mo also looks settled and ready to roll.. and the squad looks very very strong.
Next Up RB Leipzig on Thursday 21st July @ The Red Bull Arena. Kick Off 18:15 BST
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