Liverpool end pre-season with back-to-back wins

A 2-nil win over Finnish side, HJK Helsinki, and a 2-1 victory away at Swindon Town saw Liverpool bring a successful pre-season to an end as the Reds played out two friendlies over two days, using almost entirely different squads for both games.

With a starting 11 containing the majority of what will make up next Sunday’s team to play Stoke, Brendan Rodgers watched his side struggle to a 2-1 goal victory over a surprisingly capable looking Helsinki side. The first half saw the home side cause unnecessary problems for the Reds, with the issue of a lack of a defensive or ‘holding’ midfielder really rearing its ugly head again.

However, the second half saw an upturn in the performance, with the likes of Coutinho and Jordan Ibe really giving the team some tempo and quality. Eventually, it was a Coutinho goal, to add to Origi’s opener, that saw the Reds return to Liverpool on the back of a solid 2-1 win.

Playing a little closer to home today allowed many more local Reds to get their first glimpses of new boys, Roberto Firmino and Christian Benteke – two of the three most expensive players in the clubs’ history.

And whilst Firmino showed some classy touches and a lot of promise, it was Benteke who stole the show with a top class finish to give the away side the lead in the second half, chest the ball down and volleying into the Swindon net.

Over the 90 minutes though, it was existing players, Lucas Leiva and Emre Can, that stole the show and have surely given Rodgers something to think about ahead of Stoke next Sunday.

Youngster Sheyi Ojo came in to score a late winner past unfortunate Reds loanee Lawrence Vigouroux, who had made a number of great saves and really impressed in a trial, with a view to a more permanent loan this season.

All-in-all, it’s been a very promising pre-season, with the full squad being used and getting plenty of games, whilst goals haven’t been as big an issue as they were last season. A couple of final pre-season wins will see the team entering into the new season full of confidence and fans can – hopefully – be fully optimistic of getting the season off to a winning start.