Football News: Liverpool v Leicester City - Quick Match Review

Liverpool v Leicester City

I am not going to do my usual match review, just a quick look at the game and how the players got on as it is just a friendly and nothing more than a chance for the players to work on understanding the tactics and each other, as well as improve on their fitness. For those that don't know, the result was 4-0, in a dominant performance.

Leicester went into the game with their new head coach Enzo Maresca in charge and, despite losing a lot of players, a strong-looking team for the Championship (they still have Ndidi who could be key if he can stay fit and not be wasted as a defender like Rodgers often used him) and are much nearer the end of their pre-season programme. So it should have been a very good test of Liverpool's readiness for the new season. However, Leicester look a mile off being ready yet. They were fragile mentally and lost heart the moment they went behind, turning the second half into a stroll in the park. Their intent to copy Guardiola and play out from the back hampered them badly with a team of players that are simply not suited to it. Most of their team lacks mobility and are sluggish on the ball, which put them under pressure and then they made mistake after mistake due to the pressure. Maresca has a big job on there, but Kompany has shown it is possible to create a fluid, passing team from a workmanlike group over the course of the season, so there is hope.

From a Liverpool perspective, on the face of it the game was almost all positive. The press was back, though a bit disjointed at times, it was effective enough to force Leicester into error after error in dangerous areas. The team were once again looking dangerous, but they were also put under almost no pressure defensively to test that out. The few times that the Foxes were able to break forward from midfield, they opened Liverpool up far too easily, which should be a worry. It was only that they were not good enough to get the ball forward enough to really hurt Liverpool that this game was a walk in the park. I know I will sound like a broken record, but I am still unconvinced about the hybrid system with full-backs coming inside. People will say how City made it work, but they simply did not and ended up dumping the idea of using full-backs to come into the middle and instead used a centre-back in the shape of Stones. That was when it became effective. Guardiola was concerned by the amount of unnecessary goals they conceded and the distance the full-backs had to cover. He realised it never worked and tweaked it. It must be said that without a defensive midfielder in the team, the role Alexander-Arnold had performed so well in previous games, those late runs from midfield are always going to be a problem for a high line. You will not catch a midfielder running late offside as he is starting in his own half. This game for me emphasised the need to just play Trent in midfield and also sign another option for that role.

Quick notes on the players:

Alexander-Arnold - nominally at right-back but was given freedom to roam all over the pitch. I love him being given freedom and his passing is a delight and he displays great vision but it is a struggle for him to get back into right-back areas when needed. He has been looking so good in midfield, why hamper him with the right-back position on top of that? In the previous games, he was the one picking up the midfield runs, but as a right-back he is always looking to get back there, rather than chasing back centrally. When you have a player that good, who can play such beautiful passes, you play to his strengths as much as possible and do not give him roles that make it more difficult for him to perform to his best.

Jones - he is looking a different player right now. His confidence is sky high and he is playing really well. Seemed to be playing as the deepest of the midfield trio and did some good work at times tracking back, but he did tend to drift forward and leave a gap there. To be fair to him, that is the point of the hybrid role full-backs, to move in there and take that gap, but that was not happening. When he was there he mopped up well, showed that he could possibly play a deeper role if needed.

Kelleher - not really troubled at all, except for one moment when he came out to smother a shot and looked like he had learnt well from working with Alisson. It was a one-on-one save of the kind Alisson makes look routine and so did he. I am sure he would have liked a lot more to do though.

Mac Allister - drove forward well when the team had the ball, showed good vision if not quite able to complete that final through ball due to a body just managing to get in the way. Showed nice feet too to wriggle out of trouble. What particularly impressed me was his pressing. He was very much key to the press and showed a very good understanding of what was required of him. His time at Brighton has clearly given him a good grounding in pressing. He has been very impressive so far, I just hope he can continue to be as impressive when the real stuff starts.

Clark - took his goal well to make it 2-0 and generally got forward well and linked up. I would have liked to see more of him under pressure though, Leicester never really made it difficult for him at all.

Nunez - looking so impressive in this pre-season. Scored the first, showed nice skills, worked extremely hard and looks a real goal threat.

Jota - was always a danger and unlucky to only end up with one goal. Though he did make a mess of his final ball on a couple of occasions and missed a good chance with his feet, he made no mistake with his head to make it 3-0 after Salah put it on a sixpence for him to put in. The one worry I had with him was that he completely switched off on a Foxes corner and allowed Westergaard a free header. I would not have expected him to beat the big defender in the air in that situation, but he has to at least make it difficult. It was noticeable that the next time Westergaard got to a header it was van Dijk who was on him and he did make it hard for Westergaard to control his header. That is a very minor gripe, but it could be something that makes the difference between a result in the league.

Robertson - he was given much more freedom to get forward as the half went on and showed that he is at his best when making marauding runs down the flank. That could be a problem if we intend to continue with this new system. It is not going to get the best from him. Going forward though his delivery can be hit and miss, his corners were particularly poor in this game, he causes havoc and is always an option for a quick switch ball from the right flank.

Salah - despite being isolated at times out on the right, Salah had another excellent game. He has become so much more than just a goalscorer in this team right now. He absolutely tortured them down the flank and got two assists with good unselfish play. He looks so sharp right now.

Konate - in the last game I thought the referee was a bit harsh on him for being physical, but this time out he was getting carried away and was all over his man with arms around him. Sometimes he needs to just step back and let his man drop back into the opposition midfield rather than chase him and leave space in behind. Especially if he is going to end up giving away a silly free kick for using his arms to grapple like that. He can also dither and not be decisive and so end up in a situation of getting close too late, which is what usually leads to him getting hands-on.

van Dijk - looked much more competitive and aggressive. He was willing to take some knocks as well which is a very good sign as he was not doing that last season. A competitive, aggressive van Dijk was badly missed last season.

Matip - had a stroll in the park in the kind of game he is well suited to with Liverpool totally dominant on the ball. Got an assist for the 4th with a good flick on from a corner as well.

Quansah - he is certainly a big, imposing unit of a lad, looks to have decent pace and good reading of the game, but he did get caught napping a couple of times. Having to throw himself into harm's way due to being caught behind the play ended up with him picking up a knock which ended his game on the 86th minute. Clearly got a lot to learn yet, but looks to have great potential.

Elliott - linked well, played some nice incisive passes at times but has a tendency to dwell on the ball a bit much. Needs to speed up his play and not get caught on it in midfield areas. He has to realise that it is better to keep the ball moving quickly, even if it is not a dangerous pass. There are times to look for the through ball and other times to just keep the tempo up and working the opposition by making them chase the ball.

Szoboszlai - was only on the pitch for 35 minutes but showed some nice things in that time. His chip on the keeper from near the halfway line, after robbing the ball really well, was clever. Szoboszlai was just unlucky that the keeper, who was outside his area, reacted brilliantly to head it clear. His corner delivery can be excellent at times as well.

Gakpo - his footwork and technique can be exceptional at times. There is so little backlift when he hits a shot that it can catch a goalkeeper unawares. He is another that looks really sharp in pre-season.

McConnell - decent enough game, hit a nice shot, but was never really tested or put under pressure. He does lack discipline defensively though.

Gomez - was captain for the second half interestingly. Never really troubled defensively and was able to get forward almost at will. I doubt he will have had many easier 45 minutes in his career.

Tsimikas - he just tries too hard and is too aggressive because of it. Probably a consequence of being a clear second-choice. Hard not to like him though as he will run himself into the ground for the team.

Doak - once again he was always a threat with the ball at his feet only to waste the final ball every time. Until he figures that bit of the game out, he will not make it. Hopefully that will click soon for him as he has incredible potential and can drift past players so easily. Did so well with his header to make it 4-0. The flick from Matip did not make it easy for him and he really had to do well to put it into the net.

Diaz - he was causing no end of problems anyway, then the referee decided to give the most bizarre free kick against him after Alisson had played a quick ball forward, in the way Alisson does so well. I still have no idea what the foul was for but it just made Diaz raise his game. Poor Castaigne was left tied up in knots by the end of the game trying to deal with him. On that kind of form I doubt anyone could truly handle him.

Alisson - came on in the 60th minute for Kelleher and had very little to do. Played one of his beautiful flat quick through balls up to Diaz which should have resulted in more but for bizarre (inept?) refereeing. It must be said the officials were poor and changed their minds on a number of decisions after seemingly having no idea which way to give it and reacting to who appealed the most vociferously.

Scanlon - replaced Szoboszlai in the 80th minute. Worked hard but never got a chance to really show anything.

Frauendorf - was brought on in the 86th minute in place of Quansah, who had picked up a knock. It required a reshuffle, with Tsimikas going into central defence and Scanlon dropping in at left-back but it made little difference as the game was over by then.

Written by Tris Burke July 31 2023 05:59:50