LFC 2-2 Man City [LFC win on pens]: Pre Match, In Game and Post Match Chat

Now that Suarez is gone, we need goals from all over the pitch.

I really enjoyed some of our stuff last night. What impressed me the most was our ability to move up a gear when needed going forward we look awesome..Luis who....
The ability to dig and get something from a game is clearly going to be a huge asset this season well done lads.

I actually think Ibe will becoming a superb player for us, if he can sort out his shooting then he could be a natural striker.

You would think with Robbie, Rushie and Kenny over there, Ibe and Coutinho could get a couple of shooting lessons. 

Now that Suarez is gone, we need goals from all over the pitch.

Agreed.

What an amazing game that was. There are a lot more American Liverpool fans than I thought, the whole stadium was red pretty much. I need to start hanging out with some of them! 

As for the game itself:

Allen was invisible, even in person. 

Gerrard was solid as always. Misplaced a few passes, but nothing more than shaking off summer rust like the rest of them.

Hendo's road to brilliance will definitely be following the same trajectory this year as it did last year, I can see him adding a much bigger goal threat to his game this year and his runs are fantastic.

Sturridge needs to play in a quick system. He needs fast players around him, the whole dynamic of the team changed once we introduced Sterling for Rickie. He seemed lost and alone up top when Lambert was paired with him because nobody else would keep up with him except Hendo when he was able to break forward.

Sterling is incredible. Easily on his way to becoming the first name on our teamsheet. I think if he was paired with Sturridge up top he could be really dangerous.

Coates could actually be a solid option, only issue is that he got burned a couple times because he turns like a cruise ship, but he can definitely defend really well if he's goalside of his man.

Emre Can is an absolute beast and I don't think Allen stands a chance against him if Brendan opts for a 4-3-1-2 like last night.

We need new outside fullbacks for sure. Saw Johnson, Enrique, Kelly, and Robinson and none of them are good enough options to start the season with in my opinion. Possibly Johnson, but he struggled last season so I'm not sure it's safe to go into the season with him as our first choice.

Sakho definitely changed our backline once he got on. Much more capable of dealing with the speed and skill of the Man City attack than Coates or Kolo were last night.

All in all it was a good showing from the boys. Excited for the season.

can you imagine being a full back with Sterling flying past you as he did a few times last night. Imagine if he switches into the middle the CB's are going to be giving some penalties away this season so Stevie may well end up with the golden boot.

To be fair to Robinson et al, Navas was on fire last night and would have made most fullbacks look leaden footed

can you imagine being a full back with Sterling flying past you as he did a few times last night. Imagine if he switches into the middle the CB's are going to be giving some penalties away this season so Stevie may well end up with the golden boot.

He did that to Clichy, who isn't a slouch either! F**k that commentator going on about Navas, Sterling's even faster!!

Nice to see us win in penalties, but I'm not concerned too much with anything. Fitness is the only thing that matters at this stage.

The one thing I think we can parse out, regardless of it being preseason, is trying to figure out our best XI. Lambert nor Allen are part of that, but they can be effective coming off the bench. Sterling and Henderson are looking like they'll pick up right where they left off, which is a good thing. My guess is 4-3-3 with Coutinho left, Sterling right and Can in midfield. He looks very impressive and I think should come in straight away in light of Lallana's injury.

Off topic: But that pitch last night was very narrow and just all around sh*t. Not that anyone on here cares: But New York City FC will be playing at Yankee Stadium for like 2-3 seasons starting in March. That should make for some interesting MLS games hah

To be fair to Robinson et al, Navas was on fire last night and would have made most fullbacks look leaden footed

Not sure what Robinson thought he was doing playing with his hands behind his back for Citeh's second goal. I appreciate he didn't want to give away a penalty, but surely playing with your hands behind your back is not the solution?

Manchester City vs Liverpool ~ All GOALS & Penalties Shootout ~ International Champions Cup 2014

See 53 seconds in

He did that to Clichy, who isn't a slouch either! F**k that commentator going on about Navas, Sterling's even faster!!

that lad is f***in turbo charged with a huge f***in supercharger bolted on. When he went past Cliché my eye's crossed  trying to keep up with him.
Stick him in the middle even Trevor Francis was struck by what a good finisher this lad is .Pace and finishing the perfect match.

The ball through by Can to Sterling (for Sterling to be wrongly ruled offside) can't help but make me optimistic going into the new season. He could be hell of a creative force for us in midfield.

Pre-season or not, it's a good feeling to beat Citeh!

Wow, the passing, the finishing and the pace - Sterling has it all.

Our replacement for Suarez? I think so.

Just watched the highlights of the goals too, my god we let in 2 incredibly sloppy goals, no composure in that defence at all! Both down the left hand side too!

Couldn't stay up any later last night, so only got to see the first half. Thought we done o.k. and could/should have taken an early 2 goal lead.
As has been said above, their two goals were due to some pretty shoddy defending by us, and I thought they were very fortunate to go ahead twice, even though they had decent spells in the game. They weren't any better than us.
Now our goals, F**k, we tore them a new one twice. I was as surprised as most of the City players, just how good we were.
Didn't think we were at that level yet, but having watched the second half when I got home from work. Am now thinking we can go all the way again. That was a good city side which we made look pretty ordinary at times. Made up for the lads, and although my prediction was a draw, I think we deserved much more. So glad we won the pen shoot out as well.
 Sterling was superb, but not gonna go on about individuals as I think everyone who took part did their bit.
Well made up.

Just watched the highlights of the goals too, my god we let in 2 incredibly sloppy goals, no composure in that defence at all! Both down the left hand side too!

I know never mind missing Luis we have a missing defense

Just saw the highlights. Sterling looks fit and sharp.
And nice to see Hendo score, breaking into the box. The lad is not just lungs on legs, he has more goals in him than last season I reckon.

Enjoyed the game, although wish I had just recorded it as have been like a zombie all day!

Positives for me were:

- Henderson was excellent again, he looks bigger and stronger and he must be the fittest player in the league! If he can make a similar jump this season to the progress of the last then we really will have a hell of a player on our hands. Got himself into some terrific positions last night and took his goal well.

- Emre Can looked the part again didn't he. Powerful and technically excellent. Really like this kid and suddenly we look like a more powerful side with these two lads in midfield. Important when you are going up against the likes of Toure or Matic in the EPL.

- Sterling, just have to echo the comments of others. First name on the team sheet for me. Agree he will play a bit as an out and out striker this season.

- Mignolet's performance in the penalty shootout was impressive and who knows, we may find ourselves in one this season.

- Big Coates did well again I thought (except for the goal when he got caught wrong side). He was the pick of the defenders for me. Has done enough to be at the club this season in my book.

Not so good:

- We didn't keep the ball very well, not yesterday and not really during this pre-season. Looking to play it forward to quickly, risking rather than retaining possession. I hope Brendan sorts it out in time for the new season. Our problems in possession contributed to our defensive struggles last night.

- The full-backs. all of them. With Stevie dropping deep and the FBs pushing on so far it means these guys have to be as comfortable in attack as they are in defence. Unfortunately this was true for all 4 of them last night but not in a good way. Woeful in both directions for me. What has happened to Johnson? I have defended him more than most but he seems to have really lost his way, he used to have such a sure touch but it seems to have completely deserted him. None of the others looked up to it either. Be surprised if Kelly or Robinson are at the club in February.

- We still look all over the shop defensively. I know we got the result but I thought City should have scored 4-5 last night. Too many crossing opportunities, and I lost count of the amount of times our midfeild were all legging it back towards our own goal. 

Not sure what Robinson thought he was doing playing with his hands behind his back for Citeh's second goal. I appreciate he didn't want to give away a penalty, but surely playing with your hands behind your back is not the solution?

I really don't rate Robinson, I think he looked a prospect when he first started playing a few years ago but by now I'd have really expected him to have kicked on and made bit more of a name for himself. Unfortunately I think he is one who falls in the bracket of being good as a youngster but not really good enough to cut it at a team like ours. Made for the lower division IMO.

we let in 2 incredibly sloppy goals, no composure in that defence at all!

Carried on from last season! Their second goal last night included 5 or 6 errors from our lads.

Hopefully the centre back partnership will have more continuity this season and we'll find out Brendan's favoured one for the Dortmund game.

Some positives from the game although full back position worrying.

What exactly is your problem?

Am I not aloud to express an opinion on here without being unfairly criticised? Find it quite bizarre how mods let little forum bullies like you get away with nonsense like this. If you really think I am that boring, you know where the ignore function is. I don't particularly find your posts entertaining, or posts of different forum members, yet I don't have the audacity to come out and call them boring, purely because doing so behind the device you are using is cowardly.

You are allowed (aloud) to express your opinion as long as you do it quietly.

I thought City should have scored 4-5 last night.

To be fair, so could we. Should have been two up inside 15 mins !

F***ing odd place, the world of LFC fans, sometimes.
Seems that the very fans that faked outraged on seeing the team sheet for LFC are the same that write of beating City (on penalties) because they didn't start their best 11. Neither team played their best 11 from the start.

Game was entertaining and LFC showed some great attacking football late on the comeback and win.
Positive result and warm up against the champions. Much better than the spanking some seemed to fear when the team sheets came out.