Football News: Liverpool v Greuther Furth - Quick Match Review

Liverpool v Greuther Furth

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 4-4, with most of the goals coming in the second half.

First off, Greuther, despite being second tier, were a good test as this is their final pre-season match, with their season set to kick off soon. So they were much further ahead in their programme and coming towards peak readiness, while Liverpool are just starting out on their pre-season, with a couple of the players only just back from their post-season break. They looked more like a team as well but they are defensively suspect down the flanks, especially in the second half when they pushed higher to chase the game. One thing that did stand out for them was their young keeper Urbig, despite conceding 4, he looks a very good prospect that will no doubt be moving on soon, especially if he produces more saves like his late one to keep Nunez from getting his third.

Liverpool, on the other hand, looked strong in the first half, pegging the opposition back and dominating the game to the point where it was a bit of a stroll, with the press looking particularly strong early on. Though the press did fade a bit as the half went on, which is understandable at this stage of pre-season. I was particularly happy to see the midfield were breaking into the box when the ball went out wide, Mac Allister in particular was always looking for anything to break loose. In the second half, after changing the entire team, they struggled. In part down to their own failings, with sloppy passing at the back the biggest culprit. It was also clear that the defenders were not as in tune with each other in the second half, they did not look like an organised group who understood their roles at all. There will certainly be a lot to work on for the coaching staff, though there were also plenty of positives to take as well.

Quick notes on the players:

Jota - very impressive performance again from Jota, his link up play looked much improved. His workrate has never been in question but his decision making was often a problem in the past, in this game he made the right choices most of the time. He made the pass when it was needed but also knew when it was the right time to try and have a shot as well. I am not normally a fan of his pressing, despite Pep Lijnders referring to him as a "pressing machine", I normally think he is just chasing the ball rather than getting his positioning right to cut off the play. However in this game Jota would almost deserve the title, as he showed much more understanding of where to be and did not get caught on the back foot chasing the play. He was very unlucky not to score as well.

Robertson - looks to be adapting to the new role, which requires him to be much more defensively minded than before. He still got forward on occasion, but he chose those times, rather than just raced forward every time.

Diaz - his workrate is incredible, his touch, pace and skill are breathtaking. What is especially impressive is that his work usually ends up in a chance being made for himself or someone else. While they are not always taken, it does make him a very real threat. Took his goal really well.

Mac Allister - his vision and passing range are very good. I like that he looks to move the ball on as quickly as possible and is always looking for a ball that creates danger. Still needs to build an understanding with his teammates though.

Doak - very exciting, runs with the ball and creates havoc but lacks end product. He had the beating of his man and ghosted past him time and time again only to not have a clue what to do next and dither. He needs to make his mind up and release the ball much earlier. Doak is fun to watch though, but it needs to have a purpose behind his work.

Alexander-Arnold - did not get to see enough of the ball but he does look natural in the deep-lying holding midfield role. When he does get on the ball he is capable of protecting the ball until he can pick a pass and we know he has the vision and passing range to pick opponents apart. What most impressed me was his reading of the game. On the very few occasions Greuther Furth did get at Liverpool in the first half, he was often the one in position to cut out the ball or make a challenge. It is beginning to look like this is his position for the long term.

Bradley - never really put under pressure defensively but looked comfortable in the hybrid role going forward. Certainly has the ability to make it work and puts the effort in, though I would fear for him playing that way if it was say Matip behind rather than Konate. Defensively I would have worries that he might lose his bearings playing so narrow when he has been a wide player so far in his professional career.

Gakpo - he has impressed me more and more since joining the club and today he looked like he could easily play in midfield if necessary. He was willing to mix it and put challenges in. Gakpo also showed he was capable of protecting the ball and getting it to a teammate in the hurly-burly of the midfield battle. His quick feet and technique are well suited to the role.

Van Dijk - Virgil was not really tested today, what he had to do he did well, but it was one of those days where he was never under any lasting pressure.

Konate - while the referee found him a little too physical, I liked his defending personally. He never gave his opponent a chance to look up and release the pressure. His passing can be a bit sloppy though.

Alisson - had little to do, but was assured on the ball and allowed the team to dominate by playing out from the back easily.

Adrian - had a difficult and mixed time before being replaced by Pitaluga. Was at fault with a poor pass out to put McConnell under pressure for their first goal, but he did well with a quick throw forward to create the second goal for Liverpool. Made a decent save but then picked up what was clearly a back pass, only for the officials to get that wrong, along with a number of other strange decisions they made.

McConnell - unlucky with the first goal after receiving a terrible pass from Adrian, but he should have just put it into the stands instead of trying to pick a pass. He did well not to let it affect him and continued to just play his game, never losing his head and trying to do too much to make up for it.

Elliott - was instrumental in almost everything good Liverpool did while he was on the pitch, the experience with the Under-21s and winning the European Championships seems to have lifted his confidence. Showed some really good touches and incisive passing to set Salah away.

Salah - linked up really well with Nunez. He took full advantage of the space they left in behind and was causing them all kinds of problems. Looked sharp.

Nunez - timed his runs well, linked up well with Salah and was generally a real nuisance, though very unlucky not to walk off the pitch with a hat-trick. Took his two goals well and it was a good header that Urbig saved extremely well to hold it to a draw. It was back across the goal, down into the corner and on another day, against a less agile keeper, Nunez gets a goal there. His pace and ability was a major asset and he looks to have taken a step forward from the player that arrived last summer.

Tsimikas - they seemed to target him for a roughing up. He was very harshly booked after a foul which was the result of him being clearly pulled back bodily just as he made a challenge. If anything the initial foul was on him and that seemed to see him become the target of a few niggly challenges in an attempt to get him sent off. He is still trying to get to grips with the hybrid role and just seemed to end up mostly inside Quansah in the space that Matip should have been covering.

Quansah - showed some good passes and looked decent defensively. Unfortunately there was little sign of a partnership with Matip and so there was often far too big a gap between them. I would have to say that was not mainly his fault as he was taking up the position he should in order to cover for Tsimikas, who was moving inside in the hybrid role. However I would have liked to see him be more vocal and tell Matip to move over.

Jones - was not on the pitch long, like Elliott he is only just back from winning the European Under-21 Championships with England, but he looked like a player high on confidence and finally looked like he belongs there.

Matip - played a couple of excellent, incisive forward passes but most of his passing was sloppy and put the team under pressure at the back. Had no understanding with Quansah and seemed to struggle to understand the system, spending most of the time getting in Gomez's way out on the right while there was a huge gap to his left as Tsimikas had moved forward. I know he is used to having the right full-back charge forward and having to be there to cover, but he needs to adapt to the changes. He was almost always ten yards too far right and so many times he and Gomez were tripping over each other. He was badly caught on Greuther's third goal in particular. He was marking no one and caught ball watching in the middle and nowhere near any opposition player. The way Liverpool were set up in the second half should have been suited to him, he was not needing to move out wide, just stay central and be the cover defender. However he was totally lost. That is a big worry and he needs to wake up fast.

Koumas - really struggled to get into the game at all on the left flank. Had one run where he showed good pace but ended it with a very wasteful shot.

Gomez - looked suited to the right centre-back role with license to get forward when it is on, though his passing was very hit and miss. He might be better sitting back and letting Matip be the one to drift forward if they play together. At least that would get Matip off his toes, which he spent most of the half standing on. Was weak on Greuther's 4th goal, after coming across well to the left to cover he just stood off and allowed the player an easy shot. He needed to get much tighter and make it more difficult. His lack of aggression is a real weakness and it showed there.

Pitaluga - looks a long way off being ready, he looked a bit overawed and was not screaming at Gomez to close down for the 4th goal when he should have been doing so. I also wonder if he could have done a little better on it. Though that is probably just me being spoilt by having Alisson in goal most of the time. It was the kind of shot that I would have given Alisson a good chance of getting something on but Pitaluga was nowhere. I am almost certainly being harsh on him though in that regards.

Scanlon - works hard but does not look ready for the first team. He looked out of his depth. The experience will have done him good though and he will hopefully have realised that he still has a lot of hard work ahead of him to make it.

Clark - was unable to make much of an impression in the short time he had on the pitch, though he works hard he just never got enough of the ball to show anything.

Frauendorf - showed good pace and made some excellent driving runs but his end product was terrible until the ball he put in for Nunez to head goalward. Was unlucky that never got him an assist. If he can get more consistency on his deliveries, he will be a real handful for defences.

Written by Tris Burke July 24 2023 16:01:59