Suarez reunion – √
Wembley venue – √
Win against Barcelona – …
Liverpool versus Barcelona; a huge match whenver it’s played. It could be preseason, it could be the Champions League final; any day, it’s big. It’s not the rivalry of Manchester United or the derby of Everton, there’s no prelude for animosity. Just a simply one giant against another; one proud Spanish club against a historic English one; kings among men in the football world.
The match started with some fun antics in the tunnel, Suarez finally being the one to tell Firmino to cut his hair. Onto the team news then.
Liverpool first half XI: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Milner, Can, Wijnaldum, Lallana, Coutinho, Firmino, Mane.
Barcelona first half XI: Ter Stegen, Busquets, Denis, Arda, Suárez, Messi, Cámara, Mascherano, Munir, Aleix Vidal, Mathieu
Liverpool looked up this match and showed it from the get go. Lots of pressure early on and that led to an early goal.
From a Barca throw in, Lallana decided the ball was his, he snatched it from right under Camara and bolted. Again Liverpool with so many option; Firmino to the right, Mane up the middle, Coutinho to the left. Lallana fed the ball to Firmino, who beat two defenders before getting the ball back to Lallana. Lallana again with options and chooses Mane up the middle. Mane gets the ball to his right foot with one touch, and fires it into the back of the net. Liverpool – 1, Barcelona – 0. A fist pumping celebration from Klopp, well deserved.
The half wasn’t without it’s scares though. Messi came too close on 23 minutes with some nice footwork from Suarez, leaving Messi to only hit the post and keep them trailing. The post didn’t do all the work today though, Karius supporters will be happy to hear that Mignolet did do a fine job at keeping the ball out of the net today, even with the likes of Suarez, Messi and Iniesta shooting at him.
A well fought first half for Liverpool, putting on pressure and withstanding the pressure cooker that is Barca.
Liverpool second half XI: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Moreno, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Stewart, Origi, Firmino, Mane.
Barcelona second half XI: Bravo, Busquets, Denis, Arda, Suárez, Messi, Cámara, Mascherano, Munir, Sergi Roberto, Mathieu
Liverpool looking to keep pace in the second half with Origi being brought on and Mane remaining on the pitch.
This proved beneficial within minutes with Mane robbing Alves outside the box and poking the ball to Origi who quickly returned the pass. Mane bursting into the box looked and saw not one, not two, but THREE Liverpool shirts and opted for the low ball and a chance at connecting with one of the attacking Liverpool men or one of the defending Barca men would get their legs tangled and slot in an own goal. Well it was a combination of the two; he used to wear a Liverpool shirt but he’s now a Barca man. Mascherano tries to cut the ball off but ends up with an own goal instead. Liverpool – 2, Barcelona – 0.
Not a minute late, Barca still with possession from the kickoff, and Kevin Stewart wants to get involved. He rushes at Busquets who looks totally off put and ultimately can’t handle the 22 year old. Stewart cooly takes one look up and telepathically says to Origi “RUN!” and fires the ball into his path. Origi is never going to be caught by the defenders and with only the keeper to beat, he wasn’t putting it anywhere but the back of the net. Origi flys away celebrating like a jet, the stadium erupts for the 3rd time. Liverpool – 3, Barcelona – 0.
At 71 minutes, Grujic, Ings and Markovic replace Wijnaldum, Firmino and Mane. All 3 coming off did a fabulous job.
What was fantastic to see what Liverpool 3 – 0 up against Barca, and into the 90th minute Liverpool are still attacking. So much so, it earned them one more. Origi again running at the defense but this time Pique decided he’d had enough and threw in a nice tackle to stop the play. Unfortunately for him it only went as far as the feet of Markovic who takes one touch, one look, pops the ball into the air and just when you think Grujic is going to blast it over he uses his head. Literally he just nodded the ball back up into the air and it’s such a beautiful goal. He runs away and takes in the noise. Go on lad. Liverpool – 4, Barcelona – 0.
So many things to say about this match. Second last game of preseason and Liverpool are looking stellar. The options going forward, the solidarity at the back, and pressuring midfield. Klopp has used this summer to make some positive signings, and to instill confidence into his players. He has used rigorous training to turn them into attack dogs, with the mantra “if the ball is on the pitch, it’s yours”.
We go from a reunion for Liverpool with Suarez, to a reunion for Klopp with Mainz.
One more game left in preseason – √
One week left to BPL – √
Win against Barcelona – √
YNWA
theredwoman 
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