Liverpool were denied their second trophy of the pre-season campaign as Atletico Madrid won on penalties in the Audi Cup final.
Liverpool 1-1 (4-5 on penalties) Atletico Madrid
Audi Cup Final, Allianz Arena
August 2, 2017
Goals: Bare 33′; Firmino 83′.
Jurgen Klopp named a much-changed side as Liverpool were forced to play two matches in as many days. Phil Coutinho, Mo Salah, Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno were all left out of the squad.
Sadio Mane, Emre Can, Adam Lallana and James Milner all started and there were also places in the team for youngsters Ben Woodburn, Dominic Solanke and Joe Gomez.
Daniel Sturridge, who picked up an injury after scoring Liverpool’s third goal in the semi-final, was also left out of the squad.
Goalkeeper Danny Ward also earned a start despite not featuring in any of Liverpool’s pre-season matches so far this summer.
It wasn’t the most exciting first half and despite a few Liverpool chances, it was Atletico who broke the deadlock after 33 minutes.
Klopp made several changes in the second-half but it took until the 83rd minute for Roberto Firmino to make his mark with Liverpool’s equaliser after converting a penalty won by Divock Origi.
It meant the game went to penalties but Henderson’s missed spot-kick meant Atletico were crowned champions of the Audi Cup.
There was plenty of intrigue surrounding the starting line-up…
Interesting team selection by Klopp. Good luck lads #LFC #AudiCup2017
— Jeff Goulding (@ShanklysBoys1) August 2, 2017
Can't expect much else from the line-up given that we played yesterday.
Has Robertson got a knock?
— Jason Roberts (@JaseRoberts_) August 2, 2017
“Robertson should have started. Kent also in place of Woodburn” – L Muon Gante on Facebook.
https://twitter.com/TheKopMagazine/status/892797047262326784
“Good line-up. I fancy Solanke to bag a couple. Come on lads!” – Pete Matthews on the forums.
Fans liked Wijnaldum’s skill on the left wing…
I ? Gini Wijnaldum
— Jason Roberts (@JaseRoberts_) August 2, 2017
Gini breaking ankles. Love it. How is Henderson supposed to get in this team? #LFC
— ?? Imani: That Good Craic (@imanilfc) August 2, 2017
That was really good from Wijnaldum #LFC
— Klopp Era (@AsmankSharma) August 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/BallerGini/status/892819329741447169
Solanke was continuing to impress…
Dominic Solanke looks so dangerous in the air. Hardly a slouch off the ground, either. Could prove to be a very shrewd bit of business.
— Leanne Prescott (@_lfcleanne) August 2, 2017
The more I watch Solanke, the more I am amazed Chelsea let him go #LFC
— Shaun Cordingley (@Shauncord) August 2, 2017
“Solanke, Woodburn and Kent in two years time together will be something else.” – Adam Taylor on the forums.
But fans weren’t happy with the defence, in particular, Milner, following Atletico’s goal…
Notice how Milner consistently lags a yard behind the rest of the defensive line
— Andy Wales ?? (@AndyArmchair) August 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/TomHolmes19/status/892824055111397376
“Milner has to be finished as a left-back.” – Pat Doran on Facebook.
Milner doing everything he can to ensure he never plays left back again, Robertson will come on at HT I think.
— David Hickman (@DavidHickman87) August 2, 2017
Fernando Torres’ introduction got fans excited again…
Don't care what anyone says, i will always love Fernando Torres because of the things I've seen him do in a Liverpool shirt #LFC
— Joseph (@Joe_Anthony150) August 2, 2017
Why does Torres coming on to play against #LFC again still feel too soon pic.twitter.com/AbLgQj0VTq
— Lucas (@GalleyGreenwood) August 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/groovehamster/status/892838416630632448
#LFC are scrapping well and deserve a goal. But where's it going to come from? Maybe Torres will score an own goal!!!! #YNWA
— Paresh Rawal (@PareshRawal2) August 2, 2017
But fans were disappointed when Atletico won on penalties…
Don't like Audis anyway.
I'm off to make a brew.
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) August 2, 2017
“Losing on pens is no big deal. Game before was hard to watch. Still don’t see us able to break a bus but overall a good tournament with some positives.” – PJ Pop on the forums.
https://twitter.com/Learphollach/status/892845505390292996
Yep, it's preseason. No it doesn't really matter. Is it still annoying to lose on a penalty shoot out? Oh yes. #LFC
— Justin Heron (@justinheron) August 2, 2017
Bad game on the eyes, but a good workout for the lads. Impressed again with Solanke, Ryan Kent and Grujic.
Back to bed for me.
— The LFC Couch (@LFCCouch) August 2, 2017
Let us know your thoughts on the game in the comments section.
Fan Comments