Liverpool vs. Adelaide United: Lessons Learned from Pre-Season Friendly

Liverpool made it three wins from three for their summer pre-season tour as they defeated Adelaide United 2-0 in Australia.

Despite dominating for long spells it took until midway through the second half for the deadlock to be broken, with James Milner scoring for the second match in a row. Danny Ings hit his first Liverpool goal late on to seal the victory.

Here are the main talking points and lessons which can be taken from the game, as the Reds continue working their way toward full fitness.

Joe Gomez Has Impressed the Most

Associated Press

Joe Gomez impressed in Alberto Moreno's (pictured) usual left-back role.

There's always an exciting breakout in pre-season for one player or another, and Liverpool fans, after Bruno Cheyrou, Andriy Voronin and the like, have learnt not to place too much stock in who shines most over the summer.

That said, it's always good to see new signings and youngsters looking confident and fitting in, and Joe Gomez fits both of those categories. Playing at left-back again, he looked strong and composed defensively, and his pace and strength saw him escape a couple of tight situations neatly. Going forward he was less prominent than Nathaniel Clyne this time, but he still linked well and played a deeper support role when needed to.

On a side note, it was nice to see Alberto Moreno finally in action as he played the second 45 in place of Gomez.

The Deliberate Ploy to Bring Back the High Press

Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press

The three matches Liverpool have played so far have quite clearly been broken down each half: Start with lots of intensity, utilise a high press to push the opposition backwards at every opportunity and dominate both possession and territory.

After half an hour or so, the team then drops back into a deeper, more compact block, inviting more pressure onto themselves to get used to defending as a unit, having to counter-attack instead.

That was the case once more against Adelaide and it is imperative that the Reds then take this tactic into the new Premier League season—it disappeared entirely from their game over the course of last year.

Signings such as Divock Origi, Danny Ings and James Milner all look suited to encouraging the team as a whole to do so. There is still much work to be done, in particular bringing the defence up toward the midfield line when each section begins to squeeze upfield.

Jordon Ibe: Needs a Goal or Needs to Pass?

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

The dribbling and pace of Raheem Sterling are no more in the Red of Liverpool, but Jordon Ibe has been busy showing that those same qualities are still to be found in abundance in the squad.

Undoubtedly the brightest and most exciting attacking talent to watch, Ibe has nonetheless also been the most frustrating for some onlookers—both fans and team-mates, perhaps—as a large volume of his endeavours end without the right final decision.

Shots blocked when team-mates are better-positioned, one too many defenders tried to be taken on...the instances are frequent when Ibe's decision-making doesn't quite match his initial approach.

He wants to make an impact, and he is absolutely capable of doing so—but will his attempts to do it alone too often irk the players and manager to the point that he is left out more often than not? His run and instant cross for James Milner's opening goal highlight how, sometimes, quickly moving the ball is far more effective than moving quickly with the ball.

Once Ibe gets his first goal the hope will be that he settles and begins to find the right balance between showing his ingenuity and picking the right moment to release possession. For now, he's tremendously exciting to watch, but at times you need one ball for him and another for the rest of the team.

All-Change in Malaysia?

Jon Super/Associated Press

While game No. 1 of pre-season saw two different teams play 45 minutes each for Liverpool, the two matches in Australia have seen the same faces play 60, 75 or even 90 minutes each.

Jordan Henderson and James Milner have dominated midfield, Adam Lallana and Divock Origi have been the mainstays in attack and Martin Skrtel, Nathaniel Clyne and Simon Mignolet have all been in place throughout in defence.

While it certainly boosts their fitness levels and gets them accustomed to being in the side again, the suspicion must be that we'll see a vastly different XI in Malaysia on Friday for the next match, to get other members of the team 60 minutes or more on the pitch.

Lazar Markovic hasn't featured much, Alberto Moreno has played just 45 minutes so far and there are other youngsters who could get some game time.

Expect plenty of changes for the fourth match of Liverpool's summer tour.

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