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Tranmere - 1st preseason friendly

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Jurgen Klopp is confident Liverpool can continue finding solutions in their squad to what he believes will be a “difficult pre-season”.

The Reds were without a number of key players when they opened their warm-up campaign with an impressive 6-0 win at League One neighbours Tranmere Rovers on Thursday. Roberto Firmino, Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah have only just started their summer break, Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita are injured while Sadio Mane is still in Africa Cup of Nations action with Senegal. None will travel with the Reds on their US tour next week, after which Liverpool have only two friendlies before the Community Shield against Manchester City on August 2.

Klopp, though, was impressed by the manner in which the Reds' youngsters and fringe players stepped up at Prenton Park. “It is a difficult pre-season for us – Sadio is the semi-final (of the Africa Cup of Nations) which means he has two more games and will come late, the Brazilian have finally finished a 13-month season, exactly like Mo,” said the Liverpool boss. “We will not have a pre-season together, just a week before we start the games. “We looked tonight like we can find some solutions. It was a good sign for us, it should what we can achieve, but we have to be better than last season.”

Liverpool were lively and creative in their win at Tranmere, despite fielding two completely different teams in each half.
And asked if his squad were still buoyed by their Champions League final win over Tottenham Hotspur last month, Klopp said: “They should be happy and get confidence from it, but it is not like we are running around saying we are Champions League winners 24 hours a day.

“It was much better this summer. We have made the next step and it looked tonight like they are all confident.
“During the season we have to go for winning something new and not always look back. We want to play the best season we can play.” Klopp added: “It was a really good game with a lot of good individual performances. The game was fluent, we played with fantastic direction. “I'm surprised I saw so many good things, but the boys enjoyed their football and scored goals against a physically very strong side. “It was not the same weight class with our boys, but we let the ball do the work.”
 
Yasser Larouci

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Age: 18
Born: El Oued, Algeria
Position: Left-back
Signed from: Le Havre

Larouci agreed a deal to join Liverpool at the beginning of 2017, having turned down an offer to stay with Le Havre and courted interest from both Southampton and Man United.

It took time for the teenager to receive international clearance, but this came in the opening months of last season, where he joined up with the U18s—then coached by Steven Gerrard.
Following in the footsteps of the likes of Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez and Dimitri Payet in breaking through from Le Havre’s academy, there were high hopes for Larouci upon his move to Merseyside. His initial outings came in friendlies, first in pre-season and then against Burnley at Kirkby, before his maiden competitive outing off the bench in a 6-0 thrashing of West Ham, and his first start in a 3-2 win over Sunderland a month later.

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While this wait to get into action could have been tough for a young player new to the club, and in a new country, as Larouci told LFCTV in December this wasn’t the case for him. “When I signed for Le Havre I was 10, and I had to move in with house parents,” he explained. “When it’s for football, it’s my dream to be a professional, so I was very happy. I wasn’t worried about leaving my family.”

Larouci made 18 appearances for the young Reds in his first season, 12 as a starter and six from the bench, and though these largely came as a winger, Gerrard’s successor Lewtas earmarked him for a new long-term role.

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“This year we’ve just wanted to have a look at him at left-back, because we think he has the attributes,” Lewtas told Goal‘s Neil Jones in February. “He’s got great athleticism, he runs into space well, he carries the ball and he gives us great width.”

The attributes Lewtas highlights have certainly translated well to Larouci’s deeper position on the pitch, as in the system encouraged across the ranks at Liverpool there is a big emphasis on the full-backs. Able to still provide his lung-bursting runs and end product from either the byline or cutting inside, he now pairs this with an improving defensive nous.

The Algerian has been one of the constants of the U18s’ lineup this season, with only Vitezslav Jaros (19), Rhys Williams (20), Paul Glatzel (20), Bobby Duncan (22) and Leighton Clarkson (22) making more starts than Larouci (17). His flexibility has also seen him feature more regularly for the U23s since his debut against Burnley in November—a game that saw Neil Critchley shift Lewis into midfield as Larouci assumed his position at left-back.

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So far, the 18-year-old has made seven appearances for the U23s including six starts, and has made his mark with a hand in goals against Man City and Burnley—though none more so than against Hertha Berlin in December. Picking up the ball from Lazar Markovic with the score at 1-1, Larouci surged into the box and found the top corner with a fantastic outside-of-the-boot strike, proving he can still utilise his attacking prowess from left-back.


“He was a bit sceptical at the time, but as time has gone on I think you can see he’s enjoying it,” Lewtas reflected in conversation with Jones. “We look at him as a little success story this season.” Larouci revealed similar as he discussed his transition from attack-minded winger to a more well-rounded player, and pointed towards his boundless energy as a key factor behind this success. “It was a bit hard when I started to play at full-back, because I had to learn how to defend,” he said. “Normally I don’t like to defend, I prefer just to attack, but I think it’s good. He thinks I’ve got the quality to play full-back because I can just run and run, to attack and defend.”

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Lewtas’ description of Larouci as a “success story” underlines his belief in the youngster, who himself labelled the coach as someone he is “very close with,” and he is even taking English and Spanish lessons from Lewtas’ wife, Amy. This investment in Larouci on both a personal and professional level is a clear sign that he could factor in the club’s long-term plans. While the summer may come too soon for his step up to senior duty, and Lewis remains the favourite to take over from Moreno, it is certainly encouraging that he has managed to make the step up so convincingly.

Rafa Camacho on the opposite flank serves as a key role model for Larouci, having himself made the switch from winger to full-back, and this conversion seems perfectly suited to Klopp’s system. Larouci believes his versatility can boost his chances of a breakthrough in the near future, showcasing a valuable selflessness as he sets his sights on a first-team role.

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“I think I can get my chance to play in the first team at left-back, and if it’s not left-back I can still play as a winger. I think it’s good if you can play two positions,” he said. “If I’m with the first team, left-back, right wing, left wing…it’s the same.” This will no doubt endear the swiftly blossoming Larouci to Klopp and his backroom staff, and while it may take a little longer for him to catch the eye, it could be that he joins the squad at Melwood soon. After that it is a case of continuing to impress for the U18s and U23s, as well as in training, and taking any opportunity that comes his way.


Cheers mate, great read.
 
I think his post match comments where someone goes on about new players coming in and he spoke of Brewster etc already being here is the perfect smoke screen for a whammy of a signing in next couple of weeks
 
I think his post match comments where someone goes on about new players coming in and he spoke of Brewster etc already being here is the perfect smoke screen for a whammy of a signing in next couple of weeks
I think Brewster is considered as 4th choice striker for the upcoming season. Origi obviously 3rd.
What we are glaringly lacking is a wing forward/attacking midfielder who can come in for Mane or Salah.
Sure we've got Ox and Shaqiri, but are they good enough?
 
Not watched any highlights yet but interesting that Van Den Berg didn't get a run out?
 
Not watched any highlights yet but interesting that Van Den Berg didn't get a run out?
Fifa wouldn't sanction it cos the paperwork hasn't alll gone through yet, or something. Klopp sounded a bit, well, not annoyed, but bemused by that when interviewed afterwards.
 
I think Brewster is considered as 4th choice striker for the upcoming season. Origi obviously 3rd.
What we are glaringly lacking is a wing forward/attacking midfielder who can come in for Mane or Salah.
Sure we've got Ox and Shaqiri, but are they good enough?
A podcast I listened made a good point.

If Klopp were to switch to 4 2 3 1 instead of 4 3 3 for the start of the season, like at the start of last season, we do actually have cover that way even assuming the front three are still resting.

I'd still prefer a top quality backup for the front three, esp considering how many extra games we have this season (even without thinking about the domestic cups) but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.
 
Not bad for 45 mins ! Not the match people were raving about though. 7/10. He coughed up possession far too much (on the ball and poor passing) ... and that was only vs Tranmere. Something to work on.
 
Not bad for 45 mins ! Not the match people were raving about though. 7/10. He coughed up possession far too much (on the ball and poor passing) ... and that was only vs Tranmere. Something to work on.

Maybe I'm being a little obsessive, but I actually made a breakdown of every episode:

00:10 – directionless header while darting back into center circle, should have cushioned to a teammate – mistake #1.
00:23 – good touch, protected the ball and found Lallana ***
00:27 – forced to pass back into defense **
00:33 – assist for Clyne
00:53 – excellent one-touch flick to a teammate speeding into space ***
00:58 – some interplay with Larouci, pass into the box intercepted. I would not even class it as a mistake, these passes put defense under pressure and are always worth a try even though most won't connect with their intended target. *
01:06 – wins the ball with counter-pressing, shows good strength to hold off defender initially, finds Milner with a pass despite being brought down. ***
01:12 – forces turn-over with counter-pressing, wins a free-kick in a dangerous position. ***
01:27 – holds defender off, finds teammate **
01:31 – muscled off the ball by a physically dominant defender – mistake #2. Right idea though – forced the defender to tussle with him inside the box.
01:38 – good lay-off to a teammate in space. ***
01:43 – wild shot from a rebound, probably knew he was offside*
01:49 – GOAL #1 (I still don't know how Harry Wilson managed to cross that, marvelous technique from the Welshman)
02:11 – flick into the box intercepted (possible handball), bounces back to Rhian who manages to find Clyne.**
02:18 – tackled on the turn, ball falls to a teammate anyway.*
02:24 – GOAL #2

So out of 16 plays in this video:
3 resulted in goals
5 excellent or above-average plays (3 stars)
3 average/as expected plays (2 stars)
3 "meh" or miscellaneous plays (1 star)
2 mistakes/lost duels

All in all, that's excellent work leading the line. I would challenge anyone to find a more efficient play-by-play performance from any of Origi or Sturridge's games last season. I've observed the old fox Jurgen long enough to know that when he goes out of his way to downplay a performance (he even went so far as to say he could have scored one of Brewster's goals himself!), that means he absolutely fucking loved what he saw and will now relentlessly push the player for more.
 
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Maybe I'm being a little obsessive, but I actually made a breakdown of every episode:

00:10 – directionless header while darting back into center circle, should have cushioned to a teammate – mistake #1.
00:23 – good touch, protected the ball and found Lallana ***
00:27 – forced to pass back into defense **
00:33 – assist for Clyne
00:53 – excellent one-touch flick to a teammate speeding into space ***
00:58 – some interplay with Larouci, pass into the box intercepted. I would not even class it as a mistake, these passes put defense under pressure and are always worth a try even though most won't connect with their intended target. *
01:06 – wins the ball with counter-pressing, shows good strength to hold off defender initially, finds Milner with a pass despite being brought down. ***
01:12 – forces turn-over with counter-pressing, wins a free-kick in a dangerous position. ***
01:27 – holds defender off, finds teammate **
01:31 – muscled off the ball by a physically dominant defender – mistake #2. Right idea though – forced the defender to tussle with him inside the box.
01:38 – good lay-off to a teammate in space. ***
01:43 – wild shot from a rebound, probably knew he was offside*
01:49 – GOAL #1 (I still don't know how Harry Wilson managed to cross that, marvelous technique from the Welshman)
02:11 – flick into the box intercepted (possible handball), bounces back to Rhian who manages to find Clyne.**
02:18 – tackled on the turn, ball falls to a teammate anyway.*
02:24 – GOAL #2

So out of 16 plays in this video:
3 resulted in goals
5 excellent or above-average plays (3 stars)
3 average/as expected plays (2 stars)
3 "meh" or miscellaneous plays (1 star)
2 mistakes/lost duels

All in all, that's excellent work leading the line. I would challenge anyone to find a more efficient play-by-play performance from any of Origi or Sturridge's games last season. I've observed the old fox Jurgen long enough to know that when he goes out of his way to downplay a performance (he even went so far as to say he could have scored one of Brewster's goals himself!), that means he absolutely fucking loved what he saw and will now relentlessly push the player for more.
Yeah I think you're being a little kind with 00:58, 02.11 and 02.18, if he's caught in possession, or a pass or cross doesn't find it's target, then it's losing possession (regardless of what then happens) so that's 5 errors not 2, even so on second watching it wasn't as noticeable as first time around (and I didn't realise he was off-side for the poor shot) and probably comparable to any 45 mins from Mane or Mo. I should probably upgrade that to 8/10.
 
I've observed the old fox Jurgen long enough to know that when he goes out of his way to downplay a performance (he even went so far as to say he could have scored one of Brewster's goals himself!), that means he absolutely fucking loved what he saw and will now relentlessly push the player for more.
Yeah, this kid is ready anyway. We aren't buying another attacker unless someone we can't say no to becomes available.

Klopp builds a healthy environment for talent to flourish. And if a player who scored 18 goals (Wilson) on loan wasn't given a proper shot, it would undermine his environment. Same for Divock and his CL glory and same for Brewster, a prodigy who would have left already if Klopp hadn't promised a real shot. And he isn't a man to go back on his word.

The added benefit of doing it this way is that the young talent competing for all fringe spots in the manager's mind will know they have a chance and with that reward on display, we may see more of them providing the type of displays that can add depth to a title challange. And you probably know the example of that which stings in the memory the most.
 
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