Andoni Iraola rounds of his first pre-season as Liverpool manager with a 2-0 victory over Italian opposition Como. Cody Gakpo opened the score line, a brilliant run and cross from Frimpong found his fellow Dutchman in the box, and he finished it superbly. Jeremy Jacquet doubled the home sides advantage, tapping the ball into an empty net following a great picked out cross from Gakpo.
The Reds came out on top in the second of two games against Cesc Fabregas' side, a goalless draw earlier today followed by the later result means in 160 minutes of football neither of Iraola's defences in either game could be breached by the Como attack. Showing a significant defensive improvement after conceding seven goals in their previous two pre-season games.
With the Premier League season kicking off in seven days' time, a convincing performance is exactly what Liverpool needed to keep moral high going into game week one.
Here are five things we learned from Liverpool 2-0 Como that should get you excited for what is to come this season:
1. Jeremy Jacquet exceptional on debut
The perfect debut? Jeremy Jacquet will certainly think so, a phenomenal performance by the Frenchman today. His defensive contributions were superb, winning his duals, showing great pace and being comfortable on the ball. All the attributes you want in a centre back he displayed today, picking up a goal alongside that to put the cherry on top of the cake.
Demonstrating why the club spent £60 million on him in January, Jacquet would have pleased the Liverpool hierarchy tonight with that performance. With Newcastle on the horizon and doubts on who is going to start next to Virgil Van Djik from the fanbase, all that worry was put at ease.
As the Frenchman played the opening 45 minutes, it is safe to assume that he will be partnering Van Djik in the opening game of the season. Jacquet has also had more time with the squad, joining at the start of pre-season, so now that he is fully fit we should now see him kick on into the new season.
2. Clinical Cody Gakpo
Gakpo picked up a goal and an assist in the game today, proving that he can still be a very valuable asset to Andoni Iraola's side. With rumours of Barcola edging every closer to a move to Merseyside ongoing and the signing of Victor Munoz paired with the fabulous Rio Ngumoha it would be fair to say Gakpo may be looking for a move away from Liverpool in the summer. There are links to him joining Andy Robertson at Spurs but nothing is advanced right now.
One part of Gakpo's game that cant not be looked past going into this season is his finishing, for a wide player the Dutchmen is very dangerous when in goalscoring positions. With the club turning to more creative wingers focusing on getting the ball into the box rather than being more selfish, it would not be a bad idea to keep a slightly different profile than the rest in Gakpo.
Nothing is certain with the wingers coming in or leaving the club at the moment, either way the winger is showing Iraola what he brings to the pitch.
3. Solid showcase from Araujo
We also saw another debutant in Ronald Araujo, making his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt following his loan move from Barcelona a week ago. The Uruguayan looked very comfortable out there, did not put a foot wrong during his cameo.
He drifted out into the right back position a few times in that half, a position we may see him feature in a lot this season with Bradley still out injured and Calvin Ramsay linked with a loan move away. Araujo may be used as cover for centre back and right back similar to the role Joe Gomez plays in the team.
A loan move with an obligation to buy at the end of it is a win-win situation for Liverpool, if the defender finds his old form from a few years ago, £47 million is not a bad price to pay given the state of the current transfer market.
He still needs to get up to full speed but the early signs from Araujo are definitely positive.
4. Rio on the right again
One again this season we have seen Rio Ngumoha deployed on the right-hand-side, not his primary position however Iraola seems set on using the youngster in that position. The Liverpool manager has stated many times in his interviews that he wants his wingers to be able to play both sides of the pitch, but it seems Rio is getting that treatment more than the other wide players in the squad.
This could be a sign that Iraola might want Rio to play more of his games on the right and then occasionally play on the left. Another reason though could be that because of the young starts age, he has not got as much experience as the other wingers in the squad when it comes to being comfortable on both sides of the pitch. So to change that the manager has decided to operate him more on his secondary side this pre-season so he is more used to it by the time the season starts.
We all know hoe goof Ngumoha is and wherever he is playing on the pitch he will definitely be a key player for the Reds this season.
5. Improved intensity
Finally, one noticeable difference from the match today was that the press and intensity that comes with Iraola's playstyle was sustained for a longer period of time. A major concern from the previous pre-season games was the decline in the pace and performance of the game from the Reds, which led to Iraols's side losing two goals leads on multiple occasions.
Today that intensity was sustained for a longer period, a great sign going into the new season that the players are nearly match fit and are adapting to their new managers playstyle. With many seniors getting more minutes today, it seems that the squad are fit and ready for the upcoming season.
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