Early preseason returns look good, but LFC still have work to do

It has been a largely successful return to training camp and matches for Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool side. New faces are being integrated, some returning ones are performing and youth is showing out. All things you want to see in preseason.

Liverpool have gone undefeated to this point, with 2 wins and a draw to show for their efforts. The opening fixture of preseason was a 4-2 victory over German side Karlsruher.

Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota were all on the score sheet in that one which is just what fans and the coaches would have loved to see.

Speaking on Nunez, following another tally in their most recent friendly, a 4-0 win over Leicester City, the Uruguayan has scored in all 3 fixtures. He is building some nice confidence and belief as we work towards opening kickoff against Chelsea.

Preseason matches are hard to gauge things because of the constant heavy rotation. As a result, we have seen bits and parts of both new boys Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

What we have seen from the pair has been encouraging as they continue to mesh into the side more and more with each passing day. Mac Allister had his best outing yet against Leicester as he showed the confidence on the ball that made him such a hot commodity to begin with.

As for Szoboszlai, he was recovering from a little niggling injury so it was good to see him get a run out in the the second half.

One big part of preseason training and friendlies is the ability to see the younger talent at a club getting to rub shoulders with the everyday stars.

One of these youngsters, the 17 year-old Ben Doak, has most definitely seized his chance so far this summer. He has been a constant threat in all 3 matches to date, and scored his first goal for Liverpool against the Foxes.

His directness and willingness to put himself in good attacking positions has given his more Senior teammates the confidence to link up with him to mostly good effect.

The fact that we have seen big names like Nunez, Gakpo, Jota, Luis Diaz and Mo Salah all grabbing goals this preseason can only build confidence in the attack.

Their continued growth with the still evolving midfield will be crucial to how fast the Reds can start the Premier League season.

While Thiago and Stefan Bajcetic have absent to rehab injuries, they should be returning to the fold soon which will bolster that area of the park.

Youngsters like Bobby Clark and Doak have taken their chances to catch Klopp’s eye.

Overall, it’s been a very pleasant and mostly smooth preseason. However, new signings are still required and one can only hope the board does not see the good form and talk themselves out of spending the needed money.

There is still questions as to who will operate as the full-time No. 6 in this side as various players have taken up that role during the preseason.

The defense has been solid, but still allowing 6 goals at any point is never ideal. That needs to be cleaned up but there is still time to tighten things up.

Next step in the preseason schedule is another match in Singapore against the German Champions Bayern Munich. It’ll be good to see the boys reaction against their stiffest test yet of the preseason.