A
very pre-season performance by Liverpool. None of Coutinho's through-balls found their mark,
lots of sloppy turnovers from everyone, not enough possession in the midfield and a general lack of sharpness. Sturridge and Sterling looked OK on the attack but had to drop deep. Lambert came on and spent most of his time in Liverpool's half as an auxiliary defender. The new back four played like the old back four.
Southampton, despite having their squad eviscerated over the summer, looked excellent, slick and composed. They were the better team and deserved at least a draw, perhaps a win. But it's the scoreline that counts and somehow Liverpool edged it.
An optimist would say this is all preseason rust that the club will shake off. If so, they'd better do it fast.
Talk from Bruce of potential knee ligament damage, but we'll find out more over the next few days.
That aside, a good win for us. Anything which makes 'Arry sad can only be a good thing.
Bad news then.
As for 'Arry, what you've probably made him do is go sign more players. 'Arry loves a good signing more than anything.
Columbus 4-1 LA Galaxy
Meanwhile, in Ohio...Columbus battered the Galaxy at Crew Stadium last night, a lovely August evening. Best, most convincing win we've had for a long time against a club who, while not really in form, have a far more expensively assembled squad. We remain in dire need of a striker, but we still have a good shot at the playoffs this season with a kind schedule.
EDIT: Man City see off a feisty Newcastle with the kind of professional performance you'd expect from a team with unlimited wealth. A much more convincing win than Liverpool or Arsenal managed. It would be folly, given the strength of their squad, not to expect them to put up a very strong title defense. And who knows, maybe they'll actually do something in Europe this time around.
