Liverpool faced off against La Liga champions Barcelona at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday, as they look impress in this highly anticipated friendly match. Though the game was not about titles, trophies or glory, it was a key fixture in terms of the momentum of both teams, as they headed towards the new campaign. Jurgen Klopp would have wanted a solid performance from his Reds’ side and the German boss was surely not disappointed with what he got.
The English giant made a positive start in the first half, which set the tone of the match, as they took the lead in the 15th minute when Sadio Mane opened the scoring for them. There were no more goals in the first half, though the Merseyside club looked the better side in the match.
The Catalan giants did not look the same team that won the La Liga last term and things did not improve for them in the second half as well. Javier Mascherano put one into his own net, a couple of minutes after the restart and Divock Origi added a third a minute later.
Marko Grujic scored from a superb header in stoppage time to give his side a dominant 4-0 win. The win saw the Spanish giants lose out on the title, which Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain won and it gave manager Luis Enrique something to think about.
Player Ratings:
Simon Mignolet: 3.5/5
The Belgian looked impressive in the game, as he made some good and confident saves to deny Turan and Suarez goal scoring opportunities and kept a clean sheet against the Catalan giants.
Nathaniel Clyne: 3/5
Though he looked a bit shaky at the start of the match, the right-back eventually grew in confidence as the game went on and put in a good overall performance.
Dejan Lovren: 3/5
Put in a really solid showing on the night and was really instrumental in helping his side maintain a clean sheet on the night. Kept Suarez quiet and denied Barca goal scoring opportunities, though he went off injured towards the end of the game.
Ragnar Klavan: 3/5
Klavan has been one of Klopp’s brilliant findings of the summer and made things look really simple, as he helped his side defend rather comfortably against such a strong attack minded side.
James Milner: 2.5/5
Looked good on the left hand side, as he faced off against Turan, though Messi did go past him at times. Looked good on the night, though he went off before the end of the first half.
Adam Lallana: 3.5/5
The Englishman was Klopp’s best player in the opening 45 minutes and he helped create the opening goal for Mane. It was a solid display which showcased why the England international will be a key played under Klopp in the upcoming campaign.
Philippe Coutinho: 3/5
Looked full of energy and troubled Vidal quite a bit, though he missed a good chance to score a goal for Liverpool, which would have made things even worse for the Spanish outfit.
Georginio Wijnaldum: 2.5/5
Showed some positive signs of football right through the game and had some pace and energy that he offered on various occasions in the match.
Emre Can: 3/5
Did his job well in the match and is slowly getting back to being fully fit, prior to the start of the new season.
Sadio Mane: 4/5
An impressive signing by the former Borussia Dortmund coach and the attacker amazed the Wembley crowd with not just his superb finishing, but positioning and control on the ball. Put in a good shift to make things happen in the game and trouble the opposition.
Roberto Firmino: 3/5
Played as the central striker by Klopp, though he kept moving around in the game and interchanging his position with the attacking mid-fielders.
Substitutes:
Alberto Moreno: 3/5
Came on towards the end of the first half to replace the injured Milner and looked quite steady in the match.
Lazar Markovic: 3/5
Claimed an assist for the Grujic goal, which helped Liverpool add a fourth goal and end their triumph over Barca on a high note.
Jordan Henderson: 3/5
Played in the defensive midfield role and will be glad to have some game time under his belt.
Kevin Stewart: 3.5/5
Brought on at the start of the second half and created the goal for Origi and also played a beautiful pass into Firmino’s path, which should have been worth another goal.
Marko Grujic: 3.5/5
Came on and scored a goal from a superb header, which showed that he has full healed from the head injury suffered against Chelsea in the United States.
Danny Ings: 2.5/5
Not the same player that he was last term prior to his injury and might start the season on the bench.
Divock Origi: 3.5/5
Had just been brought into the game before he put the ball into the back of the net and impressed with his pace and energy.