Liverpool faced Championship side Preston North End in Kirkby on Friday, and new head coach Arne Slot saw his players in a match-type setting for the first time.
On Friday, Liverpool lost 1-0 to Preston North End in a friendly match played behind closed doors.
Arne Slot was able to run the rule over some of his players for the first time in a semi-competitive setting, including Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott.
Liverpool’s first-half lineup of Jaros, Bradley, Van den Berg, Quansah, Tsimikas, Jones, Elliott, Szoboszlai (Endo, 33), Doak, Salah, and Carvalho. In the second half, Liverpool’s XI was: Davies, Stephenson, Nallo, Phillips, Chambers (Beck, 75), Endo (Nyoni, 75), Bajcetic, Morton, McConnell, Koumas (Blair, 75), and Gordon.
It will take some time before Slot can work with his entire roster. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alexis MacAllister may still be more than a fortnight away from returning from their holidays after reaching the finals of Euro 2024 and Copa America, respectively.
The Reds will go to the United States next to face Real Betis, Arsenal, and Manchester United. Here’s what Liverpool.com observed throughout the game at the AXA Training Centre.
Szoboszlai is involved, but not Robertson.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Andy Robertson returned to training this week following their Euro 2024 commitments. Hungary and Scotland were eliminated in the group stage.
Only Szoboszlai took part in this friendly, however. Kostas Tsimikas, Luke Chambers, and Owen Beck started at left back, with Robertson missing out. That doesn’t always signal he’s hurt; he may have simply been working on his pre-season fitness.
Young talents step up.
Amara Nallo (a center-back bought from West Ham United last summer) and Trey Nyoni (a very good young midfielder signed from Leicester City about a year ago) were two of the young stars to receive a shot here. Harvey Blair, who made his senior debut in 2021 but has not played at that level since, was also involved.
Kaide Gordon and Ben Doak will compete for minutes (and both could profit from a loan spell next season, since they are far too good for U21s soccer). They were joined by Lewis Koumas and Tyler Morton, who also played.
Bajcetic returns to full sharpness.
If Stefan Bajcetic can return to his previous level after spending practically the whole season on the sidelines, Liverpool will once again have a major talent on its hands. There is a spot available at the bottom of Slot’s midfield department, and the Spanish teenager is a strong contender to claim it. Bajcetic played half a game here as he works toward his full recovery.
Salah takes an even more senior role.
With Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, and numerous other senior players still out, Salah was by far the most experienced player engaged. The Egyptian shows no signs of slowing down: despite the fact that he is now 32 years old and has only a year left on his current contract, he is still a top player and an important element of Liverpool’s assault.
Salah impressed this week in the new six-minute race test (6MRT) that Liverpool’s physical performance team favors, according to The Athletic. In the pre-season practice, players must cover as much territory as can in six minutes while sprinting around a 400-meter track. Salah knocked Sepp van den Berg, another participant in this game, from the top of the rankings.
Carvalho and Vanden Berg auditions
Fabio Carvalho, like Van den Berg, impressed while on loan last season. The Dutch center-back has already indicated a wish to go on and play regularly abroad. In the case of Carvalho, the ex-Fulham starlet must first choose his best position before making a firm choice on his future at Anfield.
Carvalho is talented, but he doesn’t fit into Liverpool’s typical 4-3-3 style. Even if Slot wanted to shake things up and play with a ‘true’ number 10 on occasion, other options would be more likely to be deployed than the Portuguese youth international. Carvalho will need to seize every opportunity he gets, and this was the first.
