Liverpool Under 21’s 3-1 Man City Under 21’s
Rodolfo Borrell’s under 21 side continued their impressive form, defeating Man City 3-1 on Friday afternoon.
Adam Morgan scored twice, with Dani Pacheco adding an impressive third.
Liverpool are top of the Premier League Under 21 Group C, 6 points ahead of 2nd placed Wolves and 10 points ahead of Chelsea and Man City.
The Fans View, by forum user Zoky
Great win and very satisfied with the performance considering that Borrell didn’t have much time or a lot of players on hand to prepare for this game, some missing, some regularly with the seniors now. We managed to put the bits and pieces together and pull out a very good level out of them so well done to the staff and the boys.
First 10 minutes City had a lot of possession but only created that chance when Robinson did very well to block it in front of the empty goal. The pitch looked like it wasn’t the best and even though we tried to press high up the pitch, we needed some time to find out rythm and improve our distribution, play from the back. The problem again was our weakest part of the team in Coady and Roddan, and then Adorjan also suffers because of that as then he gets lost in a crowded area with our central midfield duo not passing it properly and quickly enough when he finds a bit of space.
Ngoo had the typical match for him – very good on the ball and creative, but disappointing when in chance to score. Still, he was heavily involved in a lot of our actions so it’s deserved to say that he’s been one of our best (if not the best) player today. I was very happy how Pacheco and Morgan tucked inside as Michael in that lone striker role gets a lot of situations when he has 2 players close to him, you need willing runners in behind and tucking into that space and that’s exactly when they’ve done and how Morgan got his first goal. Ngoo either made wrong decisions when he faced his chances to score. He delayed his shot on 2 ocassions, lost the good angle he had and then gave the keeper the chance to read his shot (which wasn’t good enough and straight at him) very early. But one thing is for sure, this lad can create something out of nothing and even if he has a few players around him.
Coady did made his mistake when Scapuzzi scored a similar goal to Morgan’s, but wasn’t the only one guilty. As Gary Gillespie said, he kept his head in it, stayed concentrated and improved his play on the ball, a bit more courageous, started playing more deep passes and to the wings. Hiwula created some problems to us due to Wilson’s general leggero approach, when we lose the ball and he finds himself a bit higher up the pitch then you can see his lack of pace. Robinson was our best player at the back, defensively he was like a doctor, a routine-job but offensively still can do better even if overall he’s more than comfortable in possession and loves having and working the ball.
Better second half, City who were compact in the first half (you can see that Italian work over there, but I don’t think Lombardo could have been satisfied with the first half, they looked compact but we still managed to create chances too easily looking from their perspective) a bit more open which gave our limited duo in midfield a bit of more fresh air, more options on the ball and then Adorjan gained more space as well and he had a good situation not long after the break.
With Morgan, credit where it’s due, he keeps scoring. You can see the reasons why he plays there now with Ngoo (who maybe won’t end up being a striker, who knows), Yesil who will still take part here & there, and Hodzic soon coming in. Morgan playing on the wing means we will try and force him to learn the pass and move combinations better, he will see much more of the ball rather than keeping him up front and just letting him become a goal-player, making it or not. You can see on his face that it isn’t something he really enjoys, and even if he goes missing for periods, he puts a shift in, keeps his head down, doesn’t complicate when he gets the ball deep on the field, releases it simple and when he’s got the chance up there he tries shots. He’s using his anger/frustration if you like in the right way and those are the reactions you want to see, he’s honest and works hard.
A word or two for others; McLauglin mainly led the battle with Jeremy Helan, a physical left back who played similarly to Jose Enrique, because of Scapuzzi mainly coming inside off the left. Ryan did well against Jeremy, was patient and just kept being close to him.
Wilson will now get the chance to be a regular now that Wisdom is a senior, but ideally I think he’s still in a huge need of a loan move (with Sokolik or someone else stepping in), more than anyone else at the club.
This Is Anfield Man of the Match: Jack Robinson
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