Liverpool earned a 4-2 victory over Karlsruher in their opening 2023-24 pre-season friendly.
There might not be a more commonly-used than ‘minutes into the legs’ from football managers throughout the month of July.
Whether that is a Premier League boss or whoever is at the helm of a Sunday League side, the same sentiment applies.
Ultimately, summer friendlies count for little – especially the opening match. They’re nothing more than run-outs, a chance to blow out the cobwebs and rebuild match fitness.
No-one of Liverpool persuasion will scarcely remember the 4-2 victory over Karlsruher in years to come. If the scoreline had been reversed, there might have been some hysteria on social media. That’s part and parcel of this day and age.
Yet a win is a win. It’s better psychologically than a defeat for the Reds. Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez are all off the mark while there were unofficial debuts for Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai after they arrived from Brighton and RB Leipzig respectively for a combined fee of £90 million. Both made decent impressions.
The most telling thing from the workout, however, was one particular tactic that Jurgen Klopp deployed. The Liverpool boss had a dearth of midfield options for the encounter because of several reasons. Jordan Henderson sat out the game after the Reds verbally agreed a £12 million fee with Saudi Arabia outfit Al-Ettifad. Fabinho, meanwhile, didn’t even travel to Germany as he edges closer to a £40 million move to Al-Ittihad.
Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic were both absent as they continue comebacks from respective hip and adductor injuries. And Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott only meet up with the squad today, having been granted time off having helped England under-21s to European Championship glory.
That meant that Trent Alexander-Arnold started in central midfield, operating the deepest in the number-six role. As expected, some of his passing was excellent.
A permanent switch to the engine room is something that some Kopites have clamoured for over the past few years. Those calls have become more vociferous after his shift to a hybrid right-back/ centre-midfield role towards the end of last season. It proved highly fruitful, with Liverpool going unbeaten in the final 11 games to finish fifth in the Premier League and qualify for the Europa League.
But judged on the Karlsruher clash, it appears that Alexander-Arnold’s remit will remain similar to the back end of 2022
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