Liverpool’s final north-west friendly saw them 2-0 victors over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Thursday evening, with Naby Keita and Daniel Sturridge impressing.
Jurgen Klopp fielded two different XIs in each half again, with the second lineup proving far the more impressive than the first.
First-half XI: Karius; Clyne, Matip, Klavan, Moreno; Milner, Lallana, Woodburn; Ojo, Origi, Solanke
Second-half XI: Karius; Gomez, Phillips, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Keita, Jones; Camacho, Markovic, Sturridge
The first half was an extremely dull affair, with the main talking point Adam Lallana‘s very 00s haircut.
Halftime saw Keita, Sturridge and – remarkably – Lazar Markovic among the new XI.
Markovic hadn’t appeared in any of the friendlies so far, but with Harry Wilson loaned to Derby, and Ryan Kent not involved as he nears a loan move, the Serbian was given a rare appearance.
Markovic was lively on the left side of attack and linked up well with Sturridge in particular. Arguably he was more impressive than either of Divock Origi or Dominic Solanke have been this pre-season.
It was Markovic who opened the scoring, finishing well after a lovely through ball from Sturridge – who continued to impress.
Sturridge grabbed the second himself with a lovely little finish after some brilliant work by Keita. The Guinean midfielder won the ball high up the pitch then played a delightful ball through, showing Reds fans exactly the qualities they can look forward to this season.
Keita really was the standout performer and those who perhaps weren’t yet aware of his talent will be realising it soon.
Direct running from deep in midfield and at speed is something that isn’t often seen but Keita delivers it in abudance, plus plenty more.
The other impressive performer was 17-year-old midfielder Curtis Jones. The local lad has really taken his opportunity this summer and arguably has impressed more than Ben Woodburn.
All in all, it was a good match to end the Reds’ mini tour of the north-west, and the squad will now be joined by Mo Salah and Sadio Mane as they depart for the east coast of America on Friday night.
The Reds’ first game in the States is against Klopp’s former side, Borussia Dortmund, in North Carolina on Sunday evening (9pm UK).
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