Liverpool Winners and Losers vs. Valarenga

Liverpool made it six wins out of six in preseason with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Valarenga in Norway on Wednesday night in a warm-up contest that saw head coach Brendan Rodgers take far more positives than negatives from.

The friendly was inevitably overshadowed by the explosive pre-match comments from wantaway front man Luis Suarez, who claimed in this report by Sid Lowe of The Guardian that the Reds had gone back on a series of promises made to him last year regarding his future at Anfield.

However, Rodgers will be far more interested in his team’s impressive all-round showing at the Ullevaal stadium as the Merseysiders begin to wind down their summer preparations ahead of the new Premier League season, which gets underway a week on Saturday against Stoke City.

And so, what were the plusses and what were the minuses for Rodgers to take out of Wednesday’s showing?

Liverpool Winners: Luis Alberto

The Spaniard, signed from Sevilla for £6.8 million last month, was given a chance from the start by Rodgers against Valarenga to stake his claim for a place in the Liverpool first team, and the 20-year-old grabbed it with both hands.

Playing in place of skipper Steven Gerrard in midfield, Alberto turned in an accomplished display for the Reds, capped off with a well-taken goal to give the visitors a well-deserved lead.

And what a memorable strike with which to open your Liverpool account, too. After Iago Aspas’ clever chip had rebounded to the edge of the area off the crossbar, Alberto buried the half-chance with a scorching right-footed effort that flew into the corner of the net.

It would have been encouraging for Rodgers, and Alberto himself, to see that the new boy has settled so quickly into the team, and the winger is now in with a genuine chance of being picked for the Premier League opener against Stoke.

Iago Aspas

What a blistering start to his Liverpool career Aspas has had so far this summer, with the diminutive forward now having scored a mightily impressive four goals in preseason already after another effort against Valarenga on Wednesday.

What is more, the former Celta de Vigo striker is demonstrating great versatility in both his positional play and the types of goals he can score, with his strike against the Norwegians on this occasion being a simple close-range tap-in after good wing play by Stewart Downing.

And at a cost of just £7.7 million, Aspas already looks to be one of the bargains of the summer transfer window, with his place up front against the Potters now an absolute certainty after his latest goalscoring exploits.

Martin Kelly

The England international continued his successful recovery from the knee ligament injury he sustained against Manchester United last October with an eye-catching second-half showing as a substitute at the Ullevaal stadium on Wednesday, capped off by heading in the visitors’ third goal from a corner.

Kelly’s favoured right-back role will be near on impossible to win back from Glen Johnson, but there is very much a berth up for grabs in the centre of defence alongside Daniel Agger next season.

And if the cultured defender can turn in another assured display at the back in the Reds’ final preseason friendly of the summer at Celtic on Saturday, then who knows, maybe it will be the 23-year-old who gets the nod to replace Jamie Carragher at Anfield next season.

Raheem Sterling

Yet another goal, his third already, in preseason for the Reds wide man, this time a simple finish after impressive build-up play down the right from impish Brazilian magician Philippe Coutinho.

The England international really seems to have benefited from Rodgers’ smart decision to take him out of the firing line in the second half of last season, having come back this summer seemingly refreshed and recharged ahead of what could be a standout campaign for the 18-year-old.

And so, judging on yet another fine cameo after half-time by Sterling against Valarenga on Wednesday, keep an eye out for the speedster in the early parts of next season.

Jordon Ibe

There is something extremely exciting to watch about this young Englishman, as we again saw on more than a few occasions in Norway, where the winger was handed a start up front on the left-hand side of Rodgers’ favoured 4-3-3 formation.

And every time the 17-year-old is given a chance by the Northern Irishman to show his value to the team, even at his tender age, Ibe does not disappoint, which bodes well for his future on Merseyside.

So expect to see more of this highly promising England Under-18 international at Anfield in the coming months.

Brendan Rodgers

The Liverpool manager has had a testing past few weeks, spending more time fielding questions about the future of controversial striker Suarez than about how his team is shaping up ahead of the new campaign.

However, Rodgers has dealt with all the off-pitch diversions admirably, and he was inevitably again forced to speak about the Uruguayan, rather than his side’s impressive showing against Valarenga, in his post-match press conference in Norway on Wednesday night.

Rodgers gave as good as he got, though, in response to Suarez’s earlier accusations in The Guardian that he had gone back on a promise last year to help him move to a Champions League club this summer if the Reds failed to finish in the top four in May.

And the Northern Irishman should also take great credit for his team’s so far unbeaten run in preseason, with all of his recent purchases seemingly having gelled well into their new surroundings.

Liverpool Loser: Luis Suarez

Despite Liverpool’s comprehensive win against Valarenga on Wednesday, where the Reds maintained their unbeaten run so far in preseason, there was only one topic of discussion post-match: the future of mercurial forward Suarez.

The Uruguay international had given an impassioned interview to The Guardian that was published on the morning of the friendly, pleading with his employers “to honour our agreement” and let the 26-year-old depart Anfield this summer for a club competing in next season’s Uefa Champions League.

Suarez, who did not travel with the rest of the Liverpool squad to Norway with a supposed foot injury and has since been made to train alone at Melwood while his future is resolved, has now played his final game for the club, that is for sure.

However, what a sad way to bring about the end of a Reds career that, before his biting of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic last April and then the subsequent fallout from that controversy, was threatening to overshadow even the contributions of the man he replaced at Anfield, Fernando Torres.

And so, there was only one real loser after Liverpool’s victory at the Ullevaal stadium, and that man was "El Pistolero."

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