Liverpool vs. Roma: Roundup of All Performances for the Reds in Preseason Match

Liverpool have ended with their second preseason game with a 1-2 defeat at the hands of AS Roma. The Reds fielded no less than 22 players, giving a run out to a minimum of 11 in each half. Let us then head straight into the analysis.

The negatives were fewer than the positives despite the scoreline. The main concern for Brendan Rodgers at this moment will be the fitness of the players. Roma looked a lot more accomplished in this aspect of the game and played some sublime football at some moments in the match.

The biggest disappointment was Nathan Eccleston in the first half. Rodgers put great faith in him by starting him up top but he could not respond. He was not able to keep possession and was constantly robbed.

Jay Spearing was disappointing for the first 15 minutes when he was looking lackluster and giving possession away. One of his mistakes almost cost Liverpool a goal. He did recover after that and was disciplined till he was subbed. 

Peter Gulacsi had to make a save after Spearing's mistake and looked solid between the sticks. He suits Rodgers system well too with his disciplined distribution. He does not dwell long on the ball like Pepe Reina but can pass with comfort.

Jose Enrique was good although his crossing was not. In fact Liverpool's crossing overall like last season needs a lot of improvement. Not a single corner looked threatening. Maybe they have got used to Andy Carroll making something out of nothing balls. Apart from Jonjo Shelvey's effort from a free-kick after Charlie Adam teed him up there was nothing in the dead ball department.

Alberto Aquilani looked good but he can do so much better. At times it looks as though he thinks he deserves to be in a better team. The passion could not be seen. Maybe I am reading too much into it and it was just rustiness.

Joe Cole looked lively and the effort was there for all to see. A turn of his near the edge of the box reminded me of one of his goals against Manchester United. He may still have something in the tank to give to Liverpool. He made good runs and Aquilani found him once with a good chipped ball only for him to chip over the goal frame.

Jamie Carragher was average. He showed exactly why he will not work in this system that requires everyone to have good passing ability. I really felt sorry for him when he was almost toyed with by Osvaldo to create a chance for Roma. His best days are sadly behind him, although you could say this is only preseason.

Martin Skrtel did not fare much better and was just regaining fitness it seemed. Daniel Agger and Stephen Sama again did not do anything to catch the eye. Agger was disciplined but did not show signs of venturing forward.

Krisztian Adorjan and Danny Wilson were anonymous for most of their stay. Adorjan made a few decent tackles and played a part in some long passing plays. Wilson could have redeemed himself had he fired in a half decent delivery to give Liverpool a chance to equalize with the last play of the game.

Young Jon Flanagan was adventurous and was always looking to win back possession. Suso was involved but only a little. I felt that McLaughin playing at right-back showed glimpses of promise venturing forward albeit getting caught out of position on other occasions.

Raheem Sterling was exciting once again. Sterling, Cole and Shelvey were causing most problems to Roma in the final third with Aquilani pulling the strings from midfield. Sterling put in one of the more decent crosses of the game for Liverpool that Cole failed to connect with.

Shelvey was very direct and showed glimpses of why he deserves to be ahead of some other players in the pecking order. Sterling's cross that Cole missed was picked up by Shelvey after which he made space through his dribbling and forced a save from the keeper. Earlier to this he made two more good plays when he first made a shot for himself and then set up Eccleston.  

Charlie Adam was better than his reputation and his goal will give him good confidence. He was at the center of most of Liverpool's build-ups in the second half. On occasions he found Pacheco on the left to get the team moving forward. On others he tried locating Morgan and the advanced Flanagan with his cross-field long passes.

Lucas was tidy and confident with his passing to the same extent as he was before his injury. He did take a tackle towards the end of the game and it was nice to see that there were no repercussions. He will probably be ready to go into the first team by the end of August. 

Brad Jones conceded two goals but there was not a lot he could do with either of them. He did make a couple of decent saves and didn't go to ground very easily to thwart a couple other chances as well. 

Dani Pacheco was lively again and Rodgers probably spoke to him after the Toronto game. The result was there to see as he decided to tee up a better placed Adam for Liverpool's goal rather than go for it himself. He was creative in the last game but criticized for being wasteful. Today he was not and that bodes well for everyone concerned. 

Pacheco looks good on the left and showed good acceleration for another cross that Suso could not convert. Dani however did hit a very poor corner after Suso's shot was deflected.

Finally, Adam Morgan is a breath of fresh air. He is elder to Sterling and I wonder why he is not shot up into the limelight as yet. He might not have the skill of Sterling but a good football player he is. It was interesting to see how Morgan was able to do what Eccleston could not despite being younger. 

I will admit that his play was not very good because he could have and should have tried to stay onside a bit more. His ball retention and movement was good and his anticipation is what this Liverpool need more of.

A loss it might be but Liverpool are not on the same page as Roma as yet fitness wise. The Reds did well to keep it to 0-0 for the first 60 minutes. Roma did play with players such as Totti and Osvaldo while Liverpool did not. The likes of Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez are still to return. Let us just hope that the youngsters can step it up even more prior to the Europa League encounter in a few days.

I thought about rating players on a scale of 10 but then decided against it. No player would have got a rating above five. If Liverpool play like this against Premier League opponents they are bound to lose comfortably. Jonjo Shelvey did well but not enough for 45 minutes amidst Roma domination. There is still time and Rodgers will need time from the supporters too.