It was a pre-season fixture that offered a tantalising glimpse into Liverpool’s evolving defensive blueprint.
While a comfortable 2-0 victory over Serie A outfit Como at Anfield served its purpose in blowing away the residual summer cobwebs, the real story lay in the partnerships forming in front of Alisson Becker.
Alisson played the full 90 minutes and looked at his imperious best as Liverpool secured the win. The Brazilian international is one of Andoni Iraola’s pillars this season and proved his class once again with an assured display. Yet, truth be told, this game wasn’t primarily about the club's established No. 1, who had a relatively quiet evening.
Instead, it was Jeremy Jacquet who stole the show on his Anfield debut, while Ronald Araujo also fared quite well on his first run out for his new club. It was a performance that had Alisson singing their praises in the tunnel afterwards as he reflected on the squad's readiness for the campaign ahead.
Early promise and tactical control
Liverpool went into the fixture needing a display of substance after a somewhat mixed bag of pre season results in the summer. What transpired was a far more cohesive collective effort, anchored by a disciplined backline that restricted the visitors to scraps.
“That was important for us, we didn’t have great results in pre-season,” Alisson admitted post-match. “We are training really hard in the last weeks. All the lads did a great job. We need a bit of confidence; this is important with the clean sheet as well.
“It was better with the consistency with the things we did. Como played really well, it was tough for us. We didn’t give them many chances, we always had a player challenging, we were clinical with the finishes, that’s important to get the win.”
Jacquet’s Instant Impact
The headline act of the first half was undoubtedly Jacquet. Starting alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defence, the teenage Frenchman looked completely unphased by the occasion. He capped an exemplary 45 minutes by opening the scoring, smartly converting Cody Gakpo's delivery to give Liverpool the lead.
Alisson was quick to highlight the youngster's composure and spatial awareness when speaking to club media:
“Both of them played really well. Jeremy had a great first half, great on the ball, great defending, controlling the space behind, in front of him as well. Great performance.”
He expanded further when talking to liverpoolfc.com: “Both of them played really, really well. Jeremy had a great first half, great on the ball, great defending as well, controlling the space in behind [and] in front of him as well. Great, great performance.”
Jacquet made way at the interval for Araujo, who recently joined on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona. The Uruguayan wasted little time introducing himself to the Anfield faithful, registering four crisp tackles during a dominant second-half display that preserved the clean sheet.
For Alisson, having that caliber of reinforcement in reserve is precisely what a grueling, multi-competition season demands:
“Araujo was really needed; nice to have a strong centre-back in the depth. That’s what we need to win trophies; that’s the mentality we need and to play next to Virgil is great for them.”
Reiterating the sentiment, the goalkeeper added:
“Ronald as well had a really good game in the second half… it’s really good to have a strong centre-back to help the team, in depth as well. That’s what we need if we want to compete for the trophies this season – that’s what we want, that’s the mentality of Liverpool players.”
The foundation for silverware
Pre-season results can often lie, but the collective work rate and defensive structure on display gave a clear indication of the standards Iraola is demanding. If Liverpool are to mount a serious challenge on all fronts, the standard set by the back four on Sunday must become the baseline.
“We need all of them. The back four played really well,” Alisson concluded. “We run a lot, we fight a lot to get the result. We have to keep on going.”
Liverpool will hope Jacquet and Araujo carry on in the same vein as both of them look set to play crucial roles in the club's pursuit of silverware this season.
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