Liverpool vs. Malaysia XI: Lessons Learned from Pre-Season Friendly

Liverpool's summer tour of Asia and Australia came to a low-key end with a 1-1 draw against Malaysia XI on Friday, with Jordon Ibe scoring a tremendous goal to equalise in a match with few other talking points for the Reds.

There will be questions and concerns over the performance as a whole, with only two more friendlies to go for Brendan Rodgers' team before the start of the new league season. Of course, the team will have been doing plenty of heavy training sessions, and perhaps that had an effect on the tempo of the performance.

Here are a handful of questions and considerations that fans or the management might be mulling over as the Reds head back to Europe.

Lovren over Sakho...a Sign of Things to Come?

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The one wish for Liverpool fans this pre-season would have been for Brendan Rodgers to accept that Mamadou Sakho was clearly the best centre-back at his disposal and rigidly make him first-choice, certainly ahead of Dejan Lovren.

As pre-season has gone on, however, it is the Croatian who has been getting more game time, and he was handed another start next to Martin Skrtel against Malaysia—and, almost inevitably, Lovren was involved for the hosts' goal.

He was far too easily beaten for pace, movement and strength by the phenomenally named Patrick Ronaldinho, who went on to finish brilliantly, and once more questions were immediately asked of Lovren's capacity to step up and improve significantly from last season.

The defender himself said this week, per Liverpool's website: 

"

For me it's important because I didn't have a pre-season here last year when I came to Liverpool. It's important for me to have a full one, give 100 per cent and be fit enough for the first game.

I think it affected me last year. When you are with a team for a month in pre-season and you train with them, it's not the same as when you arrive in the last seven days [of pre-season] and then you play the next game. It was difficult for me, but this year is good for me and we're doing everything well here.

When I have a good pre-season, I feel I will have a good season. I can't wait to start.

"

Probably best he gets a move on then, with only two games of pre-season left to go.

Origi Needs Work and Time

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Divock Origi has been the main forward for the Reds during pre-season and was given another start as the central of three forwards—and he put in a performance much like the rest of his this summer.

At times he was exciting with his willingness to run at the defence, a few moments of strength against defenders and some direct runs at pace in behind the full-backs—but, for the most part, he was simply uneven with his touch and made the wrong decision too often.

Origi has potential, but that's all it is at this stage. He needs a lot of work on the training ground to improve his technique and to know when to quickly lay the ball off and attack the six-yard box—something else he hasn't shown enough of this summer.

What Will Liverpool Learn from Their Pre-Season Opposition This Summer?

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In the normal course of a summer, the Reds' pre-season schedule would look something like the following: two games in England against regional, lower-league teams (a Wrexham and a Preston North End, for example) before a tour away with a handful of games, then a big-name team at Anfield and perhaps another game to finish up with.

Of course, an Anfield match was impossible this summer as the stadium expansion takes place, but the quality of opponents the Reds have faced, and have yet to face, does not offer any real tactical challenge to Rodgers' team.

The tour sides have all been of a markedly lower standard and have, by and large, simply sat back and let Liverpool press high when they want and attack for long stretches. Yet to come are HJK Helsinki and Swindon Town—again, neither of whom will really test the Reds on a technical level.

Perhaps for Rodgers it's all about fitness, confidence with winning and scoring to head into the new season with...then again, that didn't really go to plan against Malaysia, either.

The Curious Case of the Lazar Markovic

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Brendan Rodgers has obviously decided he's going to focus on the fitness and tactical work of many of his first-choice players—a risky strategy in case any of them get injured and someone like Joe Allen, who has seen little game time, needs to start the season.

To an extent perhaps that's fine, but there will certainly be questions asked about why certain players have hardly featured at all, including attacking midfielder Lazar Markovic.

Markovic started the first game of pre-season and scored within a few minutes from a No. 10 role in the diamond, but he has hardly taken to the pitch since then.

Adam Lallana and Jordon Ibe have been the attackers of choice in wide areas, and with Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho waiting back in Liverpool, it doesn't look particularly good for Markovic's chances of making an impact.

If then he is needed, as a substitute or during the campaign, and doesn't produce the goods, how can Rodgers criticise him after not involving him in pre-season? That excuse was trotted out for the likes of Lallana and Lovren at different times last season.

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