Before taking on AC Milan in the International Champions Cup on Sunday morning, Liverpool gave an open training session at the Levi’s Stadium.
The Reds clash with their two-time Champions League final opponents in Santa Clara in the early hours of Sunday morning (3.05am BST), providing them with another pre-season test.
After defeat to Chelsea on Thursday, Jurgen Klopp‘s side will be keen to improve on the field, and this continued in training on Saturday.
Klopp now has close to a full squad available for selection, with only Emre Can missing of those not injured.
Divock Origi, Christian Benteke, Simon Mignolet, Georginio Wijnaldum, Daniel Sturridge and Nathaniel Clyne all took part, and will be hopeful of featuring against Milan.
Mignolet is likely to start in goal following long-term injury to first-choice stopper Loris Karius, but he will face competition from Alex Manninger and Shamal George.
Karius has been sidelined for up to 10 weeks with a broken hand, derailing his start to life on Merseyside—having joined Liverpool from Mainz 05 this summer in a deal worth £4.7 million.
Klopp and his assistants oversaw an intense session in the California heat, with the German suggesting those who played under 30 minutes against Chelsea would see significantly more game time at the Levi’s Stadium.
This should include his captain, Jordan Henderson, who will face a fight for a regular starting role in Klopp’s midfield this season.
Wijnaldum will be among those competing for a slot, though the Dutchman is also able to operate in a number of roles in the forward line.
If Wijnaldum does join the attack, he could look to combine with the likes of Sturridge and Sadio Mane, who look to have already struck up a strong relationship off the field.
Mane was in impressive form against the Blues on Sunday morning, though his first pre-season goal is still proving elusive.
Klopp will no doubt be more concerned with his side’s efforts in the defensive third at this stage, however, and this could be seen as he prompted a number of set-piece drills.
This saw the majority of his squad challenge for crosses lofted into the box by dead-ball specialist Cameron Brannagan.
Klopp’s Reds have four more warmup clashes to prepare for, against Milan, AS Roma, Barcelona and Mainz, before their Premier League campaign begins away to Arsenal on August 14.
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