Liverpool continued their pre-season momentum with a 3-1 victory over Torino at Anfield tonight, in their final warm-up match before this weekend's Premier League kickoff.
Summer signing Fabinho missed a first-half penalty on his home bow but the Reds were soon in control thanks to a quickfire double from Roberto Firmino and Georgino Wijnaldum.
Captain Andrea Belotti pulled one back for Torino on 31 minutes courtesy of a powerful close-range header which left Liverpool's new goalkeeper Alisson Becker with no chance.
Daniel Sturridge, one of 20 second-half substitutes introduced by either side, secured victory for the hosts late on when he glanced home a header from Xherdan Shaqiri's cross.
Relive how the action unfolded on Merseyside with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
"Some call them pre-season friendlies. We call it laying the foundations for success." - Liverpool's official website. Well, the foundations are almost set at Anfield as the Reds conclude their near-perfect preparations for the new Premier League campaign by welcoming Italian outfit Torino to Merseyside.
LIVERPOOL: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Van Dijk, Moreno; Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Keita; Mane, Salah, Firmino
Subs: Karius, Grabara, Clyne, Henderson, Sturridge, Grujic, Lallana, Shaqiri, Robertson, Ings, Jones, Johnston, Camacho
Subs: Karius, Grabara, Clyne, Henderson, Sturridge, Grujic, Lallana, Shaqiri, Robertson, Ings, Jones, Johnston, Camacho
TORINO: Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Bremer; Berenguer, Meite, Rincon, Baselli, De Silvestri; Belotti, Falque
Subs: Ichazo, Rosati, Valdifiori, Lukic, Niang, Ansaldi, Edera, Moretti, Parigini, Ferigra
Subs: Ichazo, Rosati, Valdifiori, Lukic, Niang, Ansaldi, Edera, Moretti, Parigini, Ferigra
Jurgen Klopp seems intent on putting on a show tonight, starting all of Liverpool's feared front three for the first time in pre-season, following Roberto Firmino's late return from a post-World Cup holiday. The Brazilian, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane scored 91 goals between them last term and have the opportunity this evening to refamilarise themselves with each other ahead of Sunday's league opener against West Ham United.
There is an Anfield debut for the most expensive ever goalkeeper as £66.9m signing Alisson Becker starts between the posts. Liverpool's two other major summer recruits - Fabinho and Naby Keita - also start in midfield but Xherdan Shaqiri is only on the bench, a position he might need to get used to looking at Klopp's options.
In front of the world's most expensive ever goalkeeper, is the world's most expensive ever defender - Virgil van Dijk. Teenager Nathaniel Phillips gets the chance to partner the Dutchman who made a massive impact upon joining from Southampton last January and should be even better after a full pre-season with Klopp and the boys.
Liverpool's World Cup semi-final contingent were back at Melwood last week, and Trent Alexander-Arnold starts after coming off the bench in Saturday's 5-0 thrashing of Napoli in Dublin. Jordan Henderson might get a run out off the bench but Belgium's Simon Mignolet and Croatia's Dejan Lovren won't be involved.
Of the team which is likely to start against West Ham, only Andrew Robertson and Joe Gomez are not in the XI tonight, so Klopp is making good use of this final warm-up match. Gomez is absent from the squad entirely, which is a slight concern considering his injury record and Liverpool's other defensive fitness concerns.
There are a few people on that Liverpool bench who may be playing their last game for the Reds tonight. Danny Ings is expected to leave before Thursday's transfer deadline, but could cost £25m, while the victimised Loris Karius has clearly been dethroned as number one and may jump at the chance of a fresh start elsewhere. Marko Grujic is also poised for another loan spell but has reportedly turned down the chance to return to Cardiff City.
One player who appears to have saved his Liverpool career this pre-season is Daniel Sturridge. The injury-prone forward has been banging in the goals and has showed signs of rediscovering his 2015 best form to become another prolific and valued member of an attack which might be unrivalled for firepower in England.
Sturridge's renaissance is just one of many positives from a Liverpool pre-season which has seen them beat both Manchester City and Manchester United, and peak with Saturday's mauling of the 2017-18 Serie A runners-up. Their only defeat came against Klopp's former club Borussia Dortmund in the International Champions Cup.
Indeed, Liverpool's pre-season results have supported the widely-held opinion that they may be the club best equipped to challenge Man City for the title this season. Leading bookmaker SkyBet make them the clear 4/1 second favourites, although Pep Guardiola's outfit are odds-on to defend their crown.
Their summer business is another factor in making Liverpool so well fancied. Of all the top-six clubs, they have surely enjoyed the best transfer window, spending big to secure quality additions in important areas. Alisson for Karius and Naby Keita for Georgino Wijnaldium, in all likelihood, are significant upgrades, while Fabinho will ensure that Reds fans soon forget about Emre Can, and Shaqiri provides depth in the forward positions.
As it stands Liverpool are, by some distance, the Premier League's biggest spenders this summer having splashed out £176m across their four recruits - as well as £75m on Van Dijk earlier this year. It seems likely that their shopping spree has finished but there are a few rumours doing the rounds before deadline day...
Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Baily claims to be of "concrete interest" to both Liverpool and Chelsea. The Jamaican-born winger scored nine goals and supplied six assists in the Bundesliga last season but is only 20 years old so Klopp might think he is too much of gamble to take after only one good season.
Christian Pulisic is a year younger than Baily but Klopp knows the youngster well, having signed him as a 16-year-old for Borussia Dortmund and tracked his career closely ever since. He is a link that won't go away, especially after his man-of-the-match performance against the Reds over in America a couple of weeks ago.
However, the most probable signing, if any, remains Lyon midfielder Nabil Fekir, who appeared certain to join the Reds earlier this summer. Klopp has insisted that he does not need to buy a direct replacement for Philippe Coutinho but would surely move again for Fekir if it became clear that he was available, with Chelsea sniffing around him too.
One area that Klopp is unlikely to invest in before Thursday is central defence, although it might be his one area of concern at present. Joel Matip is sidelined by a hip problem and World Cup finalist Lovren is lacking match fitness. Neither Joe Gomez or Ragnar Klavan are in the squad tonight so may be being preserved.
Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana are back in contention after frustrating 2017-18 campaign with injuries but may find it difficult to reclaim their once-regular starting places. Alexander-Arnold was a revalation at right-back last season while competition for places in Liverpool's midfield is stiff, even with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a long-term casualty.
James Milner is also missing this evening after needing 15 stitches to treat a nasty cut to the head sustained against Napoli. The social media sensation has laughed off his new scar though...
James Milner on Instagram 😂 pic.twitter.com/6zxqofiRRS — Jack Sear (@JackSear) August 6, 2018
A bit now on Torino, who finished ninth in Serie A for the second consecutive season in 2017-18. They are managed by former Watford boss Walter Mazzarri, who took the helm in January 2018 six months after his sacking by the Hornets.
The Italians' star man is Andrea Belotti, who has been linked to Liverpool previously as well as Spurs and Chelsea. The 24-year-old is coming off the back of an underwhelming campaign, however, scoring only 13 goals last term compared to 26 in Serie A alone the year before.
Belotti is partnered up front tonight by Iago Falque, who has overcome a disappointing time at Tottenham to become a respected and consistent performer in Serie A. After spells at Gerona and Roma, Falque joined Torino in 2016 and has scored 12 league goals in each of his two seasons with the club.
Torino are far more than their front two, though, as the experience and quality of former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu and 70-cap Cameroon international defender Nicolas Nkoulou - a bargain £3m signing this summer from Lyon - gives them a good balance.
Other Torino acquisitions this summer include holding midfielder Tomas Rincon from Juventus defenders Bremer and Armando Izzo and Soualiho Meite from Monaco, all of whom start tonight. Striker M'Baye Niang, who played under Mazzarri at Watford, has also joined but is only on the bench.
Although Torino's league season does not start until Sunday 19th against Roma, this is their final warm-up fixture before the competitive games begin as they host Cosenza in the Coppa Italia this weekend. So you would imagine they will be treating this a bit more seriously than a nice trip to Anfield.
Just under 10 minutes until kickoff on Merseyside now. Alisson looks ready...
Less than 10 minutes to go. 👊
Warm-ups: done ✔️ pic.twitter.com/3t6QAZ6UKU — Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 7, 2018
Klopp told Sky Sports prior to this match that he is worried about his team's fitness levels. The Reds only play at one pace and it is clear that the German feels Liverpool are behind schedule in getting up to full throttle.
He said: "We need to get back the freshness, for one thing, and the other thing we still need to work on is endurance. The boys are not all on the same level, you can see that."
STAT: The last time that Liverpool beat Italian opposition in their final pre-season game was in 2000 when they knocked off Parma. The Reds went on to win a famous treble that campaign...
PREDICTION: This is a strong Liverpool team and they have already proved they are in the mood for goals this pre-season. I think they will knock three or four past Torino today and canter to victory.
KICKOFF: The action is underway - and a fair few have turned out at Anfield to watch it. The familar face of Michael Oliver is the man in the middle - because referee's need a pre-season too guys!
Torino have lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, which has been very vulnerable against Liverpool in the recent past. The wing-backs will need to be careful about pushing on and leaving too much space for Salah and Mane to exploit.
De Silvestri knocks in a cross which Belotti was lining up on the volley, only for young Nathaniel Philipps to head clear.
CHANCE! Torino are caught out by Alexander-Arnold taking on a first-time cross, and Salah perhaps should do better after getting beyond the defence but he barely makes contact with a left-footed prod.
Naby Keita gets into the box via the left channel but his cross is cut out by Bremner. Liverpool's new no.8 certainly seems to have the freedom to roam in this three-man midfield.
The Reds ping the ball quickly around the edge of the box with some slick first-time passing, but the final ball to Mane is slightly overhit and the Senegalese winger can't bring it under control.
The game is being played almost exclusively in the Torino half at this point, which is good practice for Liverpool as there will be plenty of teams who come to Anfield this season and sit back.
The visitors catch Liverpool on the break but Belotti just mistimes his run onto Falque's pass, with the offside flag being raised as he hits his 20-yard shot straight at Alisson.
PENALTY! Salah robs Rincon of the ball on the edge of the box and feeds Mane to his left. The winger skips past Bremner and takes on a shot which goes wide, but referee Oliver brings play back for a foul by the Torino defender. It is not the sort of decision you see very often but it is actually spot on!
MISS! Fabinho steps up to try to mark his Anfield bow with a goal but he sends the penalty a couple of yards wide of the post. He was very reliable from 12 yards for Monaco but that wasn't close. Serves him right for choosing to wear No.3 as a midfielder. Not on, in my opinion.
The Reds are almost caught short in defence again but Alexander-Arnold makes a good covering run to intercept a pass meant for Falque.
GOAL! LIVERPOOL 1-0 TORINO (ROBERTO FIRMINO)
Fabinho is not left to rue his penalty miss for long as Firmino gives Liverpool a first-half lead. Salah drives across the edge of the area and shifts the ball onto Firmino, who cuts back onto his right foot and finds the top corner via a deflection.
© Reuters
SAVE! Alexander-Arnold strides forward and unleashes a powerful low shot which Sirigu does well to turn around the post.
GOAL! LIVERPOOL 2-0 TORINO (GEORGINO WIJNALDUM)
The hosts are going through the gears now with Wijnaldum capping off a wonderful second. It is a flowing move with runners to the left and right of Salah, who times his pass to perfection to slip in the Dutchman, who slots the ball underneath Sirigu.
You feel that is an important goal for Wijnaldum as he is one of the Liverpool players who needs to make an impression tonight. The arrivals of Keita and Fabinho have increased the competition in midfield and the former Newcastle man seems the most likely to lose his place.
Speaking of Keita, the summer signing has come away from a tackle hobbling which is something that Klopp will want to keep an eye on.
Jordan Henderson has just led a light jog of the Liverpool substitutes down to the Kop end and been greeted with thunderous applause. The midfielder might now finally get the respect he deserves, from both his own fans and those of other clubs, after his fine World Cup with England.
GOAL! LIVERPOOL 2-1 TORINO (ANDREA BELOTTI)
The Italians pull one back through a thumping header from Belotti. It is complacent defending from Liverpool, who allow De Silvestri too much time and space to control Belotti's pass, which he did very well in fairness, and return a cross into the perfect area for the striker to power past Alisson.
© Reuters
Alberto Moreno was the culprit for that goal, not doing enough to stop the cross from De Silvestri. Robertson would have been on the full-back like a rash and prevented that goal, and that is one of the reasons why the Scotland international has now firmly established himself as Liverpool's first choice left-back. Belotti also ghosted in behind young Phillips but the cross shouldn't have come in at all.
Salah dances through three tackles and into the box but Nkoulou stands up and times his tackle very well.
Phillips is finding this step up against Belotti tough going. In a Premier League game, the teenager might well have been sent off here for a foul on Belotti, which was 40 yards from goal but the striker may have been in on goal had he not been tugged to ground.
A lovely first touch from Mane gets him away from De Silvestri and his cross is nicely into the path of Firmino, whose first touch couldn't have been better but he is charged down by two defenders.
OFF THE LINE! A great double chance for Liverpool as, firstly, Wijnaldum makes another well-timed run beyond the front three, only to be thwarted by Sirigu. Alexander-Arnold runs onto the rebound and his left-footed shot destined for the bottom corner is cleared off the line by Berenguer.
Keita makes a 50-50 with Meite look like a 90-10, and then takes on a 25-yard shot which flies over the crossbar.
HALF TIME: LIVERPOOL 2-1 TORINO
Liverpool are up one at the break, with Andrea Belotti halving a lead given to the Reds by Firmino and Wijnaldum. Fabinho missed a penalty on his Anfield bow while the scores were goalless.
Jurgen Klopp will be pleased with what he has seen. The front three have picked up exactly where they left off with frightening movement and pace, and Wijnaldum and Keita have joined in attacks well too.
Alisson has not had much to do on his Anfield debut other than pick the ball out of his net following Belotti's unstoppable header. Torino have caught Liverpool on the break with some direct play a couple of times but haven't been able to convert that into many chances.
Speaking of Alisson, it does not look as though he will keep hold of his world's most expensive goalkeeper tag for long. Sky Sports are reporting that Chelsea are ready to spend £71.6m on Athletic Bilbao stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga to replace Real Madrid-bound Thibaut Courtois!
BENCH WATCH: Who might we see in the second half? Henderson and Sturridge I suspect, are the players who Klopp will be keen to give minutes to, while Klopp might experiment with a slightly different shape by bringing on Adam Lallana or Shaqiri.
Judging by the activity out of the tunnel it looks as though Klopp could be preparing as many as seven changes.
KICKOFF: The action resumes and it is a much-changed Liverpool XI for this second half. The front five have all changed with an eye on West Ham this Sunday, with Moreno and Van Dijk also off. Robertson, Grujic, Lallana, Curtis Jones, Shaqiri, Sturridge and Ings are on.
Confirmation of the second-half Liverpool lineup, with Fabinho at centre-back and Sturridge and Ing up front in a two...
LIVERPOOL: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Fabinho, Robertson, Grujic, Jones, Lallana, Shaqiri, Ings, Sturridge
STAT: This is Walter Mazzarri's third trip to Anfield - he has lost the previous two by an aggregate of 9-1.
As you can imagine, the second half is taking some time to settle after all of those Liverpool substituitions.
Shaqiri turns quickly on a pass from Jones and he chips the ball over the top for Sturridge but the striker wasn't expecting such a ball. He applauds the thought beyond Shaqiri's service though.
Phillips barges Belotti over in the box, and the Torino forward smiles wryly towards Michael Oliver who does not want to even up the penalty count. It was a shoulder-to-shoulder, with a bit of extra umph.
SHOT! This time Sturridge and Shaqiri are on the same wavelength as the striker collects a cute pass and shows quick feet to work a shooting chance on his right foot which Sirigu pushes away from close range.
SUBSTITUTION: A first change for the Italians as Simone Edera replaces Falque who has been pretty quiet.
OFF THE LINE! Shaqiri is clearly playing with lots of confidence and he release Alexander-Arnold with a clever reverse pass. The full-back stands up a cross which Ings controls on his chest before falling over while avoiding a Torino tackle. He gets a shot away from the floor but it is cleared off the line.
SUBSTITUTION: Klopp gives Clyne one final chance to stake his claim for a starting spot against West Ham. That right-back spot is one of the Liverpool manager's few dilemmas, with Alexander-Arnold lacking match fitness but Clyne coming back from long-term injury.
SAVE! Belotti travels with the ball for 30 yards before realeasing Edera, whose first touch is decent but his second is a tame left-footed shot which Alisson gathers with ease. Belotti has been a real handful. Any Premier League scouts watching will have been very impressed by his all-round performance.
SUBSTITUTION: A second change for Torino sees the introduction of Emiliano Moretti who replaces Armando Izzo in the back three. Now 37, Moretti used to play for Valencia and Juventus.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Henderson gets a very warm welcome as he replaces Fabinho, a change which sees Grujic drop into the back four. Phillips is now Liverpool's only outfield player who started the game to still be on. Mazzarri makes another change as well with Cristian Ansaldi replacing Daniele Baselli.
SUBSTITUTION: Aaaaanndddd another one. Alisson is off and Anfield get behind his replacement Loris Karius with a generous reception. A nice touch but maybe a little late considering the online treatment that the goalkeeper has had since his Champions League final nightmare.
© Reuters
Seventeen-year-old Curtis Jones has been a star of Liverpool's pre-season and he has looked comfortable from the moment he came on tonight, passing the ball with the confidence of a grizzled Spaniard.
Sturridge takes on a shot from distance but it was always rising over the crossbar. The England international is Liverpool's top scorer this pre-season. It is great to see him fit and firing again.
Sturridge chases a ball into the left channel and tries to pull a cross back for Ings, but there was no power behind the delivery and it is easily cut out.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Another round of Torino changes, with the impressive Belotti making way alongside Berenguer and Rincon. Mirko Valdifiori, Sasa Lukic and M'Baye Niang are on.
CLOSE! Lallana jinks through a couple of tackles and finds Sturridge whose attempt to steer a shot inside the near post first time is not far away at all.
Jones dives into a tackle which in pre-season might be described as "overenthusastic". Lukic limps away over by the touchline and Klopp has a quiet word with the youngster to calm him down.
GOAL! LIVERPOOL 3-1 TORINO (DANIEL STURRIDGE)
The Reds wrap up victory here with a third through Sturridge, who owes his latest pre-season goal to a delightful assist from Shaqiri. The Swiss dinks the most precise of crosses over the head of Nkoulou, and Sturridge glances a header inside the post.
SUBSTITUTIONS: A final couple of changes for Liverpool as youngsters Camacho and Johnston come on for Phillips and Jones.
CHANCE! Niang gets to a lofted pass before Karius but turns his shot on the turn wide under pressure from the German goalkeeper, who was off his line quickly to make it difficult for the striker.
FULL TIME: LIVERPOOL 3-1 TORINO
Liverpool complete their pre-season preparations with another win as strikes from Firmino, Wijnaldum and Sturridge knock off Torino. Two games against Serie A opposition in three days - two wins and eight goals. West Ham need to be wary because Jurgen Klopp's Reds are on a roll.
That's it from our coverage from Anfield. Thanks for joining us tonight and be sure to come back for live coverage of Friday's big Premier League kickoff between Manchester United and Leicester. Until then, goodbye!
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
