Liverpool’s young attacking pair of Lazar Markovic and Divock Origi impressed Brendan Rodgers as the Reds swept aside True Thai All Stars 4-0 in Bangkok on Tuesday.
Liverpool’s first outing of the summer resulted in a comfortable victory, with two different lineups playing either half.
Goals from Markovic, Mamadou Sakho, Adam Lallana and Origi secured the ‘True Super Trophy’ for Rodgers side.
After watching the victory in sweltering and monsoon conditions, Rodgers told the club’s official website, “Firstly Divock, I thought he was excellent. You can see his movement and what really pleased me tonight was his persistence.
“He had a couple of chances that he missed that he would want to score. But he kept going, he was very positive, and obviously he showed how good he is in the air. [It was] a great cross into the box and it was a good header that he scored, so we’re very pleased for him.
“Lazar Markovic was playing in a position in the first half just behind the front two and he broke forward very well and it was an excellent finish. So I was pleased.”
It’s early days of course, and Liverpool now get back on the road with their next pre-season friendly against Brisbane Roar in Australia on Friday (9:45am UK).
But Rodgers took positives from the game and his players fitness. He added, “Obviously we played two different teams in either half and I thought both teams played very, very well.
“The first half in terms of the heat and the [second half] conditions were difficult but I thought over the two halves they played very well. The Thailand team is a very difficult game for us but I was very pleased with that first game and the fitness levels.
“There were a few elements tonight. The first one, obviously, was to develop the fitness of the players. We’ve been back just over a week and we’ve been working very hard but of course when you go into a game situation, particularly in the heat, it is a big test.
“So it was to develop our football fitness. Secondly, tactically, we were looking to find something from the game tonight. The first 20 minutes of each half we played with a high press to really force the game and in the second half of each half we looked to defend in a medium to low block.
“These are the challenges that we’ll find throughout our Premier League season. Times when to press high, in particular at home, and then away from home when at times you have to defend with a medium to low block and I thought the players adjusted and adapted very well to that.”
- True Thai All Stars 0-4 Liverpool: Reds Kick Off Pre-Season With Rout
- Video: Jordan Henderson rabona assist vs. Thai All Stars
- Video: Watch the goals as Liverpool ease to pre-season win in Bangkok
What did you make of Liverpool’s performance against True Thai All Stars? Let us know your post-match thoughts in the comments section below.
Fan Comments