You'll Never Walk Alone- A Liverpool Career

[OliFisher96]

Fortuna Dusseldorf 1-2 Liverpool

Liverpool (4-2-3-1):

Mignolet; Kelly, K. Toure, Coates, Wisdom; Allen, Henderson; Sterling, Shelvey, Assaidi; Borini

Liverpool continued their good preseason performances with a 2-1 win away at German side Fortuna Dusseldorf to make it two wins in two matches for new boss Brendan Rodgers.

Liverpool started the game well when Joe Allen was brought down after a wonderful run inside the area, but Borini sent the penalty wide.

However, Liverpool were presented with another opportunity from 12 yards when Shelvey was bundled over in the 11th minute following an Assaidi cross from the left side. Although the Fortuna 'keeper got a hand to it, Shelvey converted the rebound to take his preseason tally to two goals.

Shelvey then scored again in a carbon copy of the penalty incident. the ever threatening Assaidi crossed from the byline were Shelvey met the cross with a bullet header for 2-0 on 18 minutes.

Liverpool went in 2-0 up at the break and considering the dominating nature of their performance it wasn't a surprise that Brendan Rodgers sent the same line-up out to begin the second half.

Dusseldorf got themselves back into the game on 54 minutes when Kruse netted a wonderful diving header from a rebound after Mignolet had done superbly to keep out the previous shot.

With the score still 2-1 Liverpool made a triple sub on 70 minutes, with Sturridge coming on for Borini, Downing on for Assaidi and Suso being introduced in place of Sterling.

However, there was no more notable action in the game as Liverpool defended soundly to deny the Dusseldorf pressure. Final score 2-1 and two wins on the board in preseason for Brendan Rodgers.

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Rodgers reflects on Dusseldorf game, looks ahead to Granada

Liverpool managers Brendan Rodgers was quick to heap praise on his side after their 2-1 victory in Germany at Fortuna Dusseldorf.

"We were fantastic, I was really impressed. Very solid at the back, showed composure with moments of brilliance when going forward and that's exactly what I wanted to see. I am really pleased as I feel that preseason is a very important time to get an idea of what your players are capable of and I certainly did today, and I was very impressed."

The manager was also very happy with the performance of one man.

"Jonjo [Shelvey] had a perfect game today pretty much. He did everything I asked him to sitting just behind the striker. He held the ball up well, played some lovely passes and got his name on the scoresheet twice. On his day and at his level he is unplayable at time, and I'm really pleased for him."

Looking ahead to the Granada game at Anfield, Brendan said that he would use the final preseason game to learn more about the depth of his squad.

"The Granada game is going to be really useful for me as a manager because I get to see our academy lads out there in a game situation so I can see how we're performing in that sector. It will be a good experience for them and a chance to show me what they can do. There will likely be a couple of recent academy graduates in there to make sure they are coping OK, but this one is all up to them pretty much!"

The game against Granada kicks off at 19:45GMT, with pre-match build up on LFC-TV beginning at 19:00GMT.

[OliFisher96]

Liverpool 1-1 Granada CF

Liverpool (4-2-2-2):

Jones; McLaughlin, Coates, Wisdom, Flanagan; Henderson, Coady; Allen, Ibe; Mukendi, Borini

Liverpool fielded an academy team that competed all the way with Spanish outfit Granada, eventually earning a 1-1 draw to end and unbeaten preseason campaign.

Granada took the lead on just 4 minutes when a wonderful header from Ighalo just beat the outstretched Ben Jones to give the Spaniards the lead early on.

Liverpool had rarely threatened when, on 36 minutes, a good bit of vision from Joe Allen found Conor Coady with space in the box. The England under-20 captain made no mistake, turning and slotting past the Granada 'keeper to equalise.

The game was deadlocked at 1-1 after 45 minutes, when Rodgers opted to change the formation to a 4-3-2-1, in which Borini and Ibe were playing just behind the big centre forward Mukendi with Coady, Henderson and Allen occupying the middle three.

The second half didn't have much action in terms of scoring opportunites, so both sides had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

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Rodgers looks ahead to first game of season

Liverpool get the season underway on Sunday as they host Machester City at Anfield. Manager Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to the game and feels it will be a tough game to begin.

"I think it will be a hard challenge, you know, that sounds obvious because they are the defending champions but they have improved their squad and look very much ready to defend it. Mancini has done a fantastic job there and I have nothing but respect for the way he is running the club, but we have to give him problems."

The manager is also confident his side can get a result to kick off the season.

"That being said, I am very confident we can get something from the game It's crucial we hit the ground running by playing good football the way we know we can and getting three points today. The players are confident and there's a real buzz about the dressing room heading into the game and we are all looking forward to it."

The match against Manchester City will have a special 2-hour build up on LFC-TV before the match at 16:00GMT.

In other news, Henoc Mukendi has gone to Barnet on a season long loan.

[OliFisher96]

Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City

Liverpool (4-2-3-1):

Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Gerrard, Leiva; Downing, Coutinho, Sterling; Suarez.

Bench: Jones, K. Toure, Henderson, Shelvey, Assaidi, Suso, Sturridge

Aug 12, 2012 - Liverpool vs Manchester City
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Liverpool (Gerrard 18')	1	0	1
Manchester City (Sinclair 79', Aguero 89')	0	2	2

Liverpool opened up the 2012-13 BPL season with a sickening 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield today.

The game started with plenty of action, as Liverpool were awarded a free kick on the edge of the Manchester City 18 yard box. Gerrard stepped up to take the free kick, but was denied by the wall.

On the 10th minute, a wonderful bit of link up play provided Downing with a chance to whip in a superb cross which Coutinho headed down at the far post but Suarez' shot ricocheted behind for a goal kick.

Liverpool took a deserved lead on 18 minutes when Suarez cut out a lazy back pass by Zabaleta which the Uruguayan threaded through to Downing who notched his first assist of the year when Gerrard powered in the header from his pinpoint cross to make it 1-0.

Manchester City didn't threaten much in the first half but when they did, it took a heroic block from Agger to stop a blistering shot from Tevez just outside the 18 yard box. Skrtel was also given credit for interrupting a cross from Scott Sinclair as he headed to safety before Tevez could latch on.

Liverpool felt they were hard done by on 31 minutes when a wonderful through ball from Sterling set Suarez free down the left hand side. Luis then angled his run and appeared to be pushed in the back by Kompany, but the appeals were quickly waved away by referee Mark Clattenburg.

The only real bit of work Mignolet had to do in the first half was in the 43rd minute, when Tevez found some space 25 yards out but his strike floated into the young goalkeeper's hands.

It seemed as though referee Clattenburg would blow the whistle for half time when the ball went out for a throw-in, but Sterling acted quickly and took it before he had chance, before Coutinho played through Downing whose cross agonisingly missed Suarez' run. The referee did then blow his whistle, meaning Liverpool had a 1-0 half-time lead.

Machester City made a significant change at halft-time as Sergio Aguero, hero of last season, came on to replace Carlos Tevez.

Liverpool came out all guns blazing and almost doubled their advantage on 46 minutes when Sterling's blistering run and quick cross hit the top of Kompany's head. The Belgian couldn't locate the ball as it fell to Suarez on the volley 9 yards out, but shotstopper Joe Hart produced a wonderful diving save to deny Suarez his first of the new season.

Five minutes later it was City who almost scored when a silky bit of skill put Aguero in a shooting position on the edge of the box, but Mignolet palmed the curling shot wide for his first real test.

Aguero again found himself in space in the 55th minute, but his thundering drive from 20 yards out was tipped away fairly comfortably for a corner by Mignolet.

Liverpool responded to the period of pressure by nearly netting on a counter attack following the corner. Gerrard's through-ball deflected to Suarez who brought in Coutinho who played a wonderful ariel pass to the onrushing Sterling. His cross whizzed accross the face of goal and was scrambled away.

The Redmen made a double change on 70 minutes when Sterling made way for Assaidi and Sturridge came on for Coutinho, with Liverpool switching to a 4-2-2-2 formation.

Scott Sinclair came extremely close to levelling the scores when a wonderful driven ball across goal was turned towards the net by the young winger, but Mignolet collected the scuffed effort well after being in the right place.

The visitors finally got the equaliser on 79 minutes when a slick piece of build up play set Sinclair through who routinely punched the ball past Mignolet to make it 1-1.

What happened in the 89th minute was very cruel on the Redmen, as Aguero was played in by Silva and he curled his effort tantalisingly into the far corner past a despairing Mignolet to surely win the game for the visitors.

Indeed the visitors did leave with three points, albeit slightly unfairly when looking at the statistics.

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"Cruel" says Rodgers after defeat

Brednan Rodgers was quick to highlight the harshness of his side's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, but says his side will dust off and move on.

"I'm absoloutely gutted. The boys are annoyed and disappointed because we felt we had done enough to at least get a point. City to be fair to them played well in the second half and I thought we maybe weren't coping too well hence why I made the substitutions. The first goal for them was brilliant and I hold my hands up to that, but the second goal was so cruel; to lose the ball in a scramble and next thing you know Sergio is curling it in. It's just cruel. But we have to move on. This is one game of many and from what I've seen today, against the best side in the league, there is a lot to be encouraged about. We look forward to the next game now."

Captain Steven Gerrard was please to get on the score sheet but unhappy with the result.

"Look, you know, it's great to get a goal but my team didn't get the result today and that's what's important. I didn't think e deserved to lose and I'm sure anyone watching the game will agree. But we will look at what went wrong and put it right ready for West Brom in six days time."

A reminder that all player and manager interviews are available for 7 days on LFC-TV

[OliFisher96]

"We must bounce back" -Rodgers

The Liverpool manager has emphasised the importance of putting the previous game behind them in hunt of their first points of the season when his side travels to The Hawthorns on Saturday.

"What happened in the last game has been forgotten about, we move on. Preparation is key so that's what we have been doing leading up to this game. I'm confident we can get a result."

Stewart Downing is also confident.

"Me and the boys are ready for this one. A lot of people just saw what went wrong last week for us and not what we did well. We will eliminate the mistakes and get a good result on Saturday."

Pre-match build-up is at 14:00GMT on LFC-TV with kick off at 15:00

[OliFisher96]

West Brom 0-1 Liverpool

Liverpool (4-2-3-1):

Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Gerrard, Leiva; Downing, Coutinho, Sterling; Suarez.

Bench: Jones, Toure, Suso, Sturridge, Borini, Henderson, Shelvey.

Aug 18, 2012 - West Brom vs Liverpool
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
West Brom (-)	0	0	0
Liverpool (Suso 88')	0	1	1

Liverpool got their first points of the season with a crucial win away at West Bromwich Albion with Suso's late heroics silencing The Hawthorns.

Liverpool came close early on when in the 6th minute a run from Raheem Sterling produced a cutback from the byline from which Coutinho thundered an effort that was deflected away for a corner.

In a fairly quiet opening, West Brom almost took the lead after 20 minutes when a seemingly hopeful long ball was latched onto by Long who in the end chipped his shot over and wide.

Fantastic link up play between Sterling and Coutinho almost gave the Redmen the lead in the 24th minute after a swift 1-2 gave Sterling the chance to put in a cross which Suarez narrowly headed over.

Odemwingie had a half chance for West Brom in the 31st minute when a he met a free kick 40 yards out with a glancing header that was weak and wide.

There was panic for West Brom in the 40th minute when a clever through ball by Suarez to Sterling set him away but his low pass across goal had too much on it for the approaching Coutinho, who could only produce a weak shot,, albeit on target.

Liverpool had another chance right on the stroke of half time when a sloppy clearance fell to Suarez just inside the box, but his dipping shot was tipped away by Foster to deny his first goal of the year.

Half time score at the Hawthorns was 0-0 in a largely Liverpool-dominated half but nothing to show.

Suarez has a fantastic chance to open his account on 50 minutes when a wonderful cross from Downing on the break picked him out but the header was inches wide.

Mignolet was tested again in the 56th minute when Yacob directed an Odemwingie cross towards goal, but Simon saved comfortably.

Liverpool made their first sub in the 70th minute when Suso came on for Sterling and Suso swapped wings with Downing.

In the 80th minute Shelvey replaced Coutinho and Borini came on for Downing.

With the match seemingly destined for a draw, Suso produced a moment of brilliance when he spun off his man and thundered the ball into the far corner in the 89th minute to surely win the game for Liverpool and to avenge the side's last minute defeat last Sunday.

Suarez almost made it 2-0 but his long range effort was just over, and the referee afterwards blew his whistle to ensure Liverpool has three points.