Darwin Nunez's Brace Secures Liverpool's Thrilling 4-4 Draw against Greuther Furth
Liverpool completed their pre-season friendlies in Germany with a thrilling 4-4 draw against Greuther Furth.
Goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah, as well as a brace from Darwin Nunez, helped the Reds triumph in Villingen-Schwenningen.
Most importantly, Jurgen Klopp got more minutes into his returning stars’ legs as the new season begins.
Here are five things we learned during the Reds’ second preseason friendly.
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Electric Ben Doak has to stay
It’s easy to get carried away with pre-season contributions from young players who are giving it their all against seasoned pros who may be taking things a little easier in comparison.
However, Ben Doak has impressed in his two 45-minute appearances, as he did in his rare first-team and academy appearances last season.
Given his inexperience, the teenage Scot is not yet ready to compete for regular minutes on the wings with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, but there is a clear path to game time in the Europa League and domestic cups next season, as well as value in training every day alongside the aforementioned wide forwards.
As a result, the 17-year-old would be better served staying at Anfield rather than being sent out.
Conor Bradley a genuine option
Of course, Doak isn’t the only youngster making a case to management at the moment, with Conor Bradley doing an equally good job.
You get the idea that, after Trent Alexander-Arnold is restored to right-back by new midfield additions, Klopp sees Joe Gomez as the back-up.
However, with a move to a formation that demands so much of Liverpool’s play to go through their right-sided defense, the Englishman is far from a like-for-like substitute.
That is not the case with Bradley, who, although not on Alexander-Arnold’s level (who is? ), has shown himself to be far more capable than Gomez at stepping into midfield and just as capable in terms of basic defending.
Klopp must be seriously considering keeping the 20-year-old on the bench for at least the first half of the season.
The Europa League, like Doak, represents a big opportunity.
Conor Bradley a genuine option
The looming departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have undoubtedly prompted Klopp to experiment in pre-season, but one has to question if he is beginning to see Cody Gakpo as a potential midfield alternative.
The Dutchman shone in the engine room once again, as he did against Karlsruher, using his physicality, touch, and awareness to fluidly link the forward and back lines.
Of course, his likeness to Roberto Firmino as a No.9 makes him the obvious pick to begin the season in that position in the most difficult away games.
However, there is a valid case to be made for Gakpo to be used in midfield in home games to enhance attacking danger.
More encouragement for Darwin Nunez
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Last time out, there couldn’t have been a more Darwin Nunez goal than the one he scored against Karlsruher.
A bad pass, a lucky bounce, and a first-time finish – this is the exact mix of chaos and effectiveness that we’ve come to expect from the Uruguayan during his time at Anfield.
Of course, if Nunez is to truly prosper for Liverpool this season, Klopp will need to smooth out some of his kinks.
However, there were some encouraging signs here.
Both of his goals exhibited a level of serenity that was not often evident last season, with many neat touches under pressure preceding a confident finish.
And the Reds’ new No.9 then did everything right by teeing up Mohamed Salah at the finish, only to be denied a match-winning hat-trick minutes later by a lucky save.
Nunez will have the kind of second-season explosion that has defined his limited career thus far if he can keep this up.
Adrian does little to boost his reputation
It’s easy to assume that the decision to extend Adrian’s contract by one year this summer did not go over well with all Liverpool fans.
After joining the game in the second half, the Spaniard did little to appease his critics, firing a terrible ball through to marked youngster James McConnell, who scored for Greuther Furth.
It’s the kind of mistake that saw Caoimhin Kelleher promote Adrian to number two goalkeeper during the last two seasons, limiting him to only two appearances.
The 36-year-old himself recently admitted that his function as an older statesman in the dressing room was more significant than his on-pitch performance in securing new terms.
Fans of the Reds must hope that an injury problem between the posts does not force a change in the status quo.
