Liverpool were held to a goalless draw in their first pre-season friendly of the summer by Swiss side, FC St. Gallen.
Rafa Benitez experimented with his squad, naming a different line-up in either half and although chances were few and far between there were impressive displays from Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Andriy Voronin, David Ngog and Dirk Kuyt.
Babel and Voronin, both linked with moves away from Anfield this summer, have apparently been performing impressively during training too.
New £17.5million summer signing Glen Johnson donned the Liverpool jersey for the first time in the second half.
Johnson looked strong and composed, despite taking a left-back role for most of the second half. He made several key interceptions and tackles.
Going forward he proved useful too, setting up Lucas late on with a great cross to the far post from the right side of the penalty area. The Brazilian midfielder couldn’t quite stretch far enough to connect with it properly though.
Gallen played well and, especially on first half display, deserved the draw and even had enough chances to win it comfortably. Strong defending by Jamie Carragher in the first half dealt with their long ball attacks.
Banners pleading with Rafa Benitez to keep Xabi Alonso at the club by all costs could be seen amongst the 20,000 fans who filled the AFG Arena.
The Reds now travel onwards into Austria where they play Rapid Vienna this Sunday evening, before a mini-tour of South East Asia where they play in Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore.
St Gallen: Bolli, de Souza, Schenkel, Nushi, Vitor, Caceres, Frei, Zellweger, Koubsky, Costanzo, Merenda.
(Second half): Bolli, Oehri, Lang, Jagne, Frick, Graf, Ciccone, Hammerli, Abegglen, Martic, Frrokaj.
Liverpool: Cavalieri, Degen, Carragher, San Jose, Insua, El Zhar, Spearing, Gerrard, Babel, Voronin, Nemeth.
(Second half): Martin (Gulacsi, 80), Darby, Skrtel, Kelly (Ayala, 80), Johnson, Kuyt, Plessis, Lucas, Benayoun, Pacheco, Ngog.
Referee: Cyril Zimmermann.
Attendance: 20,000
Discuss St. Gallen 0-0 Liverpool with other fans in the forums
* Apologies to fans who were enjoying our live text commentary of the game. Due to technical problems we were forced to abandon the feature this evening.
Fan Comments