Liverpool 4 vs 0 Borussia Dortmund Friendly Match Anfield - Liverpool 10th August 2014 REF: M ATKINSON Liverpool 4 D.Sturridge 10 D. Lovren 14 P. Coutinho 49 J. Henderson 61 Live Commentary - The whistle goes for full-time and Liverpool have produced an impressive performance to sweep aside Borussia Dortmund 4-0. They kept the intensity high throughout and were slick in possession as Sturridge, Lovren, Coutinho and Henderson all scored, whiel they were also very solid at the back as Dortmund failed to threaten. 89 Liverpool have not let their guard down for a second in this match and continue to be fluent with their passing as the clock ticks down. 87 Bandowski lets fly with a powerful shot from 25 yards but it is straight at Skrtel and bounces away to safety. Manquillo thanks the fans for their applause as he is replaced by Kelly. He has been impressive today but there will be much sterner tests to come. 84 Lambert tries to latch on to a long pass from the back but there is just too much pace on the ball and Langerak comes out to gather. 82 Liverpool will be delighted with their display today but will now just want to see it out and keep a clean sheet. Another Liverpool change sees Allen replace Henderson for the closing stages. Lambert is warmly welcomed on to the pitch as he comes on for goalscorer Sturridge. Dortmund, meanwhile, take off Jolic and bring on Amini. 76 Immobile has tried to inject some life into Dortmund and he causes a problem here as his shot takes a deflection off Lovren and loops just over Mignolets bar. 75 Hendersons inviting cross from the right is cleared to safety by Papastathopoulos, who had to twist his body to flick it away. The fans rise to give Coutinho a standing ovation as he is replaced by Ibe. The Brazilian has been excellent today. Mass substitutions can spoil pre-season games and here is another one for Dortmund, with Bandowski on for Aubameyang. 69 Groans go up around the ground as a pass is played forward towards Sturridge, but he was in an offside position and knew it as he veered away from the ball. 67 Sterling seems to have boundless energy, as he continues to torment the Dortmund full-back with his pace and trickery. 65 Liverpool will be full of confidence ahead of their first Premier League game next weekend. Southampton will be their opponents and Ronald Koeman is at Anfield today, no doubt feeling slightly nervous. Liverpool bring on Enrique for Johnson at left-back, as Dortmund replace Mkhitaryan with Ji. GOAL! Henderson adds a fourth for Liverpool. There is a hint of offside in the build-up and it looks as though Coutinhos low cross then goes out of play, but the flag does not go up as Sturridge tries to keep it in. The striker then shows good composure to pick out Henderson and give him the simplest of finishes. Dortmund make another change as Grosskreutz comes on for Piszczek. 58 Johnson unleashes a ferocious strike with his left foot from the edge of the area which crashes into the face of Schmelzer, who goes down instantly due to the force of the impact before gingerly returning to his feet. 57 A lovely passage of play from Liverpool sees Johnson, Coutinho and Henderson work the ball to Manquillo on the overlap, but his first-time cross is cut out. 55 Dortmund win a free-kick 30 yards from goal but Schmelzers delivery is hit far too hard and goes straight out of play. 53 Liverpool have really picked up the pace again since the start of the second half and spring forward quickly from midfield, but Coutinho tries to be a bit too clever with his final shot and dinks a soft effort straight into the arms of the keeper. 51 Henderson tries to power his way into the Dortmund box as Liverpool look for a fourth, but Ginter holds him off strongly. GOAL! Coutinho adds a third for Liverpool. Having just sung Ginters praises, this is a glaring error from the youngster as his poor ball is seized upon by Sterling. He plays in Coutinho and the Brazilian takes a couple of exquisite touches to make room for a shot and drills his finish beyond Langerak and into the bottom corner. 47 Ginter gets a crucial touch to Sterlings cross to prevent it from travelling all the way through to Sturridge in the centre. That is a goal-saving clearance. The second half gets started and there have been changes at the break. Lucas replaces Can for Liverpool, while Dortmund make three substitutions and bring on Immobile, Bender and Hofmann for Ramos, Kehl and Kirch. The half-time whistle goes and Liverpool have a commanding 2-0 lead after early goals from Sturridge and Lovren. Dortmund have come back into the game since then but the home side have looked good at the back, so Rodgers will be very encouraged at the interval. 45 Sturridge is brought down 25 yards from goal and Gerrard steps up to take the free-kick. It is a precise effort as it curls towards the top corner, but is just maybe lacking in power as Langerak dives to his right to make an acrobatic save. 43 Sterling and Sturridge combine well as Liverpool threaten a third, but there are too many bodies back for Dortmund and the danger is averted. 41 Here is one of those shots from long range as Mkhitaryans low 25-yard strike fizzes wide, but it did take the slightest touch off a Liverpool player on the way to give them a corner. 40 Dortmund are seeing a lot of the ball just at the moment but Liverpool look organised at the back and they have been limited to ambitious shots from distance. 38 Ramos gets a lucky break on the edge of the Liverpool area as the ball ricochets back to him, but he fails to keep his shot down and the crowd cheers as he smashes it high and wide on the volley. 36 The pace of the game has slowed as the first half has progressed, with Liverpool racing out of the blocks but Dortmund gradually gaining a foothold. 34 Sterling and Piszczek clash into each other near the touchline and there is a moment of concern for the Dortmund defender as he needs treatment from the physio, but he will be fine to carry on. 32 Manquillos adventurous run down the right is stopped in its tracks by two Dortmund players but the German side cannot make the most of an opportunity to counter-attack. 30 Dortmund are having a decent spell here as Piszczek sees a cross cleared by Gerrard. Mkhitaryan gets the ball back moments later with a possible chance to shoot, but Manquillo blocks it well. 28 Kirch tries to release Aubameyang through the middle but Skrtel stretches out a leg and makes the interception. 26 Jolic takes aim from the edge of the area but Johnson gets a boot to the ball to deflect it wide for a corner. 24 Johnson bursts forward and tries to play a one-two with Henderson, but Ginter reads the situation well and comes away with the ball. 23 Coutinho has probably been the star of the show in the early stages and he produces a dazzling piece of skill to give himself some room and then picks out Sterling with a sublime crossfield pass, but his shot is blocked by Papastathopoulos. 22 Manquillo has looked solid so far and he digs out a good cross from the right, which is eventually played back into the middle for Coutinho to shoot wide. 20 Kirch tries his luck from distance but blazes an effort high into the stands. 19 Mkhitarya is just starting to have a bit more influence on proceedings and he appeals for handball against Gerrard, but the Liverpool skipper only touched it accidentally as he dived in the box to make a tackle. 18 A poor pass from Sakho is cut out by Mkhitaryan and he drives forward before playing in Jolic, but Johnson covers well to make the tackle. 17 Lovren earns another round of applause after coming in with a crunching challenge which prevents Ramos from having the chance to turn in the centre circle. 15 Dortmund are looking just a little rusty and passes are going astray, but that is partly down to Liverpools high-tempo play. GOAL! Lovren makes it 2-0. The summer signing from Southampton takes advantage of some poor marking to head firmly into the bottom corner from Gerrards corner. Sterling ahd won the set-piece after some sharp play down the left. 12 Dortmund try and hit back straight away as Kirch floats an inviting ball towards the back post for Piszczek to chase, but he cannot quite get there quickly enough to control his first-time shot. GOAL! Sturridge fires Liverpool into an early lead. It us great goal, too, as Lovren plays the ball into midfield and Coutinho helps it round the corner with a delightful pass to give Sturridge a clear run on goal. He still has work to do but finishes coolly with a good shot into the bottom corner. 9 Gerrard catches Kirch with an aggressive challenge to give away a free-kick in midfield, allowing Dortmund to take control of possession for a minute or so. 7 There is a great atmosphere at Anfield, with the fans in good voice after being starved of watching their home side for the past three months. The Dortmund supporters also joined in with a rendition of Youll Never Walk Alone just before kick-off. 6 Liverpool are looking lively here as some sick passing ends in another shot. This time t ios Coutinho whose chipped effort from the edge of the box is comfortably caught by the keeper. 5 Coutinho cushions a lovely pass into the path of Sterling, who uses accelerates away from his defender and draws a good save out of Langerak. 4 Dortmund work their way into a decent position but Kirchs low shot from just outside the area is weak and Mignolet makes an easy save. 3 Sturridge links up nicely with Can before Gerrard tries to pick out the overlapping Johnson down the left wing, but his attempted pass is intercepted. 2 Dortmund win an early free-kick in Liverpools half but Jolics delivery is poor and sails over the heads of everyone in the centre and straight out of play. 1 Dortmund get the game started and this promises to be an exciting game between two strong teams gearing up for the new season. James from London writes: I would assume Rodgers is using this game to get his planned starting 11 against Southampton match fit, so it seems we have signed Manquillo as a first team player ahead of Johnson and Flanagan. Michael Connolly is the first to get in touch, saying: I think its gonna be a Liverpool win. They have started a strong team like Coutinho and Sterling and Sturridge. 2-0 to liverpool for me with Gerrard and Sterling getting on the scoresheet. Dortmund are also fine-tuning their plans ahead of the new season and represent a difficult test for Liverpool, which is probably exactly what they need at this stage of their preparations. Jurgen Klopps side came second in the Bundesliga last season and boast some talented players in their ranks. One of those starting this afternoon is Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was heavily linked with a move to Anfield before he opted to go to Germany. It has been a busy summer in the transfer market for Liverpool and three of their new recruits are in the line-up for todays game at Anfield, with Dejan Lovren and Javier Manquillo starting in defence and Emre Can in midfield. Daniel Sturridge, meanwhile, is back to lead the attack after a minor injury. Let us know your views and prediction ahead of the game by getting in touch at Lewis.Rutledge@bskyb. Will Liverpool come out on top today? Which of the new players are you particularly looking forward to following? Liverpool: Mignolet, Manquillo, Johnson, Skrtel, Lovren, Gerrard, Can, Henderson, Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge. Subs: Jones, Kelly, Toure, Sakho, Coates, Enrique, Lucas, Allen, Suso, Ibe, Lambert. Borussia Dortmund: Langerak, Piszczek, Papastathopoulos, Ginter, Schmelzer, Kehl, Kirch, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Jojic, Ramos. Subs: Bonmann, Subotic, Grosskreutz, Sarr, Knystock, Bandowski, Bender, Amini, Ji, Hofmann, Immobile. Welcome to our minute-by-minute commentary on Liverpools pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund. The Premier League kicks off next weekend so Liverpool will hope to have shaken off the cobwebs by now and show that they are ready for action.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 16:36:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015