Valerenga 1:4 Liverpool (Pre-season friendly)

Enrique sure can pick out a pass.

Yep I'd agree with that Bri.  Would send a deaf person to sleep (no offense intended to deaf people).

Yes, he'd send an insomniac to sleep. Maybe they should prescribe him on the National Health.   

Coutinho the keymaster unlocks an easy goal for Sterling.

Fabulous goal. Assaidi needs more playing time!

Absolutely beautiful goal there. Coutinho just floats past players, you can see all the years of Futsal in his style. Good finish by Raheem

Oooh yes. Stylish one that one.

Coutinho again at the heart of it. Dribbles past one, and the defenders back off allowing Cou to the edge of the area. He plays the pass into Assaidi, who flicks it behind him. Coutinho could make it himself but the ball falls to Sterling who calmly rolls it into the corner.

Nice goal!

All Ive seen from Assaidi is class everytime Ive seen him.. he deserves more chances than he gets.

4-1

Another well worked goal.  Nice touch by Assaidi.

Good game.

Had to start with Coutinho... calm finish from Sterling and a nice touch from Assaidi too

Good match overall.

Thought Aspas, Alberto and Borini stood out for their movement.

Coutinho as always was miles ahead of everyone else though.

Yep I'd agree with that Bri.  Would send a deaf person to sleep (no offense intended to deaf people).

What was that you said Debs ?

Another impressive performance.

Delighted with this pre-season.

Good match! First half was a little shaky defensively but created alot of chances, 2nd half not too dissimilar, but were able to just turn on the heat when we needed, good little run out and players looking sharper and sharper.
Man of the first half probably Aspas for me, got in some very good positions and finished an easy chance.
Man of the second half probably Coutinho, created a hell of a lot of chances, came close a few times himself and didnt put a foot wrong.

Coutinho is absolutely brilliant in the 10, but I worry playing him there may leave us a bit too open against better opposition. if Stevie and Lucas can stay home a bit more then we might be able to work it. 1 go and 2 stay as opposed to the 2 and 1 we usually play, "flipping the triangle" 

Alberto MOTM by miles for me. Delightful performance.

Valerenga were truly awful though, I'd certainly like to see us against some big teams from next year. Don't feel we've been tested enough.

   I'm gonna have to wait til Lfctv show it my stream was f***in pish, gutting, sounds as tho the lads put a decent shift in ?

YNWA

What was that you said Debs ?

You not asleep yet Billy?

FT. 4-1
Alberto, Aspas, Kelly and Sterling with the goals.

Fairly comfortable throughout. Second half we dropped off them, the tempo slowed and we pressed less, allowing them time on the ball. I think that was a really good example of what high pressing can do for you. We created several chances in that first half just because we pressed well in numbers and forced errors.

Very promising in terms of our attacking play, though it was disappointing to concede a set piece.

Aspas - great movement, looks very promising. His finishing doesn't worry me at the moment. If he keeps getting in to those positions he'll score.

Alberto - slow to come into the game in the central attacking midfield role. Scored a lovely volley and did find his feet and was involved in some good attacking interplay. Can pick a pass and although he's no Coutinho with the ball at his feet, he's got the ability to make space for himself. I think this guys only going to get better this year and could be another little gem.

Allen - looks much better, and more confident too. Starting to think that shoulder injury really did affect his game a lot.

Ibe - strong, powerful, quick, this guy has it all. His finishing wasn't good today but you could see he was annoyed at himself for that. Think this guy could be special!

Wisdom - another one that is looking very promising. Sometimes could be accused of overplaying it at the back but that seems to be down to his confidence on the ball, which is a positive rather than a negative. Decision making will come with experience.

Second half subs, no one particularly stood out for me, but Mignolet looked commanding in goal again, Coutinho was great despite several through balls and passes going wayward. Shows you how good this guy is though, even when some things don't work, he still pops up in the next attack, pulling the strings. Borini looked like he wanted to prove a point and was unlucky not to score. Sterling finished his chance easily enough but I thought he wasn't great in possession, not his greatest game but its only pre season so no matter.

Good run out, promising signs in attack.

Yep I'd agree with that Bri.  Would send a deaf person to sleep (no offense intended to deaf people).

wasn't sure if I heard him right before when he referred to Borroni as a "bonus ball".9

Am i an idiot for pronouncing Ibe "eyebee"?

Good performance and another big win.  A few thoughts:

Kelly seems to have locked himself in as the 2nd choice fullback behind the first choice pair of Johno/Enrique

Wisdom seems to have usurped Skrtel and locked himself in as the 2nd choice CB behind the first choice pairing of Agger/Toure

Hendo and Allen seem to be battling it out for the right to be the 3rd CM when we play with a 4-3-3

Coutinho seems locked into the #10 role when we deploy a 4-2-3-1, but will likely be deployed at LW when we play a 4-3-3.  The kid is pure class and will undoubtedly have a huge season for us!!

Borini had a good game, but it was really his best performance of the preseason so far and was still not as impressive as Aspas who has had a number of solid performances.  I think Aspas has locked himself in as our best fit CF and will likely play most of the game against Celtic and be in line to start up top against Stoke in the season opener.  Surely Sturridge will be pushing him for that role in the coming weeks though, and I think Aspas may well stay in the starting 11 and just get moved out wide right.

Assaidi looked sharp and dangerous.  Would like to see the lad given some more chances in the first team, but sadly I get the feeling that he is simply being put in the shop window.

Ibe and Sterling both look sharp and I think BR will rotate the two of them throughout the course of the season in order to keep them both motivated and continue their development.  They both really look like the sky is the limit. 

Luis Alberto looked very sharp, and I think he will grow into a very good player for us this season.  Will take some time to settle in, but I see bright things for this lad.  He looks a proper footballer. 

Let's keep the momentum going into the Celtic game and finish preseason on a high note!! 

Good game lads!!  YNWA