Following Liverpool’s trashing of Borussia Dortmund yesterday at Anfield forums are awash with caveats demeaning the fine win for the Reds. Although a friendly by name, what remains is lots of tangible progress and hope for the season ahead for Liverpool.
For any praise awarded to the Reds' imperious performance we are told – and perhaps rightly so – that Dortmund were not only missing key players (not as many as made out) but also only flew out to Liverpool on the morning of the game. All fair points and ultimately how much a successful pre-season means for any side is hard to gauge, but in what was the final game a week before the real season starts Liverpool couldn’t have played better. Below are some of the key talking points from the game and the pre-season overall.
Lambert unfairly in the spot light:
From the day it seemed like Lambert was to sign for Liverpool it seemed like a sensible deal, regardless of the fairy-tale narrative which was inevitable. In a deal worth £4.5m Lambert looked an astute piece of business.
In what looked like a replacement for Iago Aspas, now on loan at Sevilla, Lambert provided a passionate 3rd or 4th striker option, more equipped to the Premier League, provided a physical dynamic to Liverpool’s attack all the while having an underrated technical ability, especially in terns of bringing midfield runners into play.
Yet with the loss of Luis Suarez, injury to Sturridge (and the maybe-outgoing Borini) meant Lambert spent the entirety of the US tour as Liverpool’s solirtary striking option. Lambert’s touch was off, and the team were not playing to his strengths. Passes into the channels is no way to utilise Lambert’s strengths. Perhaps the introduction of Lallana in the coming weeks may ease the transition for Lambert to life at Liverpool.
It didn’t take long for the many Liverpool podcast, forums and discussions on social media to question the signing of Lambert. While Lambert may indeed ‘fail’ at Liverpool, how he does in pre-season, especially when he was playing more than expected – let’s not hide from the fact Rickie will have needed more training than others to get up to speed - will mean little in the long term. Lambert admits he has always struggled to gain full fitness and in time the apparent rustiness should shake off. Lambert, as clichéd as it sounds, needs time and support to settle into life at Liverpool.
Commercialism is here to stay as Europe Conquers New Lands – Once Again:
Up until perhaps five or six years ago Liverpool’s pre-season schedule’s were more akin to that of football in a bygone time of Swiss training camps and secluded intense work outs for the players. Now Liverpool spend their summers – like the vast majority of big European clubs, conquering foreign lands in the hope of gaining more fans and ultimately, more money.
While in previous times European teams travelled the world to spread the love of football and discovering new ways, now teams travel to gain new ground. Last summer Liverpool travelled to Australia and Asia, famously selling out Melbourne’s famous MCG stadium which holds over 90,000 fans.
This year though saw a return to the states, another lads with a growing love for the not so beautiful game. Through Liverpool’s commercialism hungry owners FSG they set out to gain more fans, especially in the east coast – the west coast tends to be Real Madrid dominated. Games in Boston, New York, Charlotte, Chicago and Miami saw Liverpool create a vast dominance of support for the Reds in each stadium.
While the cynics will rightly point out these ventures simply as a revenue increase activity, Liverpool fans and Scousers in particular can take pride in the fact their home club has touched the hearts of millions worldwide.
Coutinho is stepping his game up:
Liverpool’s attack last year was without doubt their finest they’ve had since 1988 – arguably the best Liverpool side ever. By scoring 101 goals in the league last year they set a standard they’ll struggle to replicate again anytime soon.
Although none of the key attacking players for the Reds last year underperformed, Coutinho was the only Liverpool player who lacked a consistency which could elevate him to an elite plane of playmakers in world football. With erratic shooting and a penchant to force passes he made look so easy when he arrived from Internazionale the previous January, Coutinho became a source of relative frustration in a breathtaking season for Liverpool.
Again while any praise – or criticism – handed out during pre-season will come with caveats, his performance vs. Dortmund in particular indicated the diminutive Brazilian is ready to reach the next level. The performance vs. Borussia Dortmund saw Coutinho playing at an extremely high speed, beating players at will, passing at an astonishing level and even scoring a fine goal to top it off.
While earlier in the summer the acquisition of Adam Lallana indicated Brendan Rodgers may want more from that area of the pitch, it seems the thought of competition has already spurred the Brazilian on.
In defence of the defence:
Having conceded 50 league goals last season the less said about Liverpool’s defence last season the better. Although the performance of Martin Skrtel post January and the astounding resurgence of Jon Flanagan are praiseworthy, the collective performance of the defence was shambolic.
Although questions remain over how much of the defensive frailties stem from a Liverpool side with both full-backs continually camped in the opposition half, too many individual errors occurred throughout to be given and coherent explanation other than shoddy concentration and/or lack of ability.
Nevertheless Brendan Rodgers has made two key defensive acquisitions to date with one more presumably on the way. Yesterday’s game was the debuts of both Dejan Lovren and Javier Manquillo. As ever, many questioned the signings. Lovren supposedly was overpriced (in a market where David Luiz cost £50m) and only excelled because he was protected by Schneiderlin and Wanyama, while Manquillo lacked experience (a fair point, he made under 10 league appearances last season).
Yesterday both started the game vs. Borussia Dortmund and made as impressive home debuts for Liverpool as you will see. Lovren, not only scored and made one goal, but was imperious at the back beside Martin Skrtel. Although still early days, Lovren’s organising of the defence may be what Liverpool missed last season with Carragher and moreso– whisper it – Sami Hyypia.
Manquillo on the other hand was exceptional at right back. Two missed slide tackles in quick succession do to little to mar the performance by the young Spaniard, especially when you consider the performance of Liverpool’s only senior full back Glen Johnson has been so utterly dismal for the past 18 months.
Manquillo was solid both in defence and going forward. If the young Spaniard can replicate the form seen by former steady-eddy right backs Arbeloa and Finnan then he will be a fine signing - although for Liverpool to sign him permanently seems more difficult than first muted.
