On the back of a derby day delight for the first team it was over to the Under 21s to offer yet more joy to the Red half of Merseyside as Liverpool’s youngsters welcomed Benfica B to the AXA Academy in Kirkby.
Fresh off the back of first-team duty, Calum Scanlon, Jarell Quansah and James McConnell were all included in Barry Lewtas’ squad with the latter duo starting in the Autumn sunshine.
Meanwhile, there was a welcome sight of Kaide Gordon on the Reds’ bench as a young side lined up to face the Portuguese outfit who compete in Liga B week in and week out.
‘SALAH DOING SALAH THINGS’ | LIVERPOOL 2-0 EVERTON | DAN’S MATCH REACTION
From the first whistle, Quansah was showing his class, gliding beyond the press and getting Liverpool on the front foot with consummate ease before showing off his passing range – sure signs he was developing and learning rapidly from the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate.
The talented Trent Kone Doherty was lively in the opening exchanges as Lewtas’ side began the game well, earning numerous free kicks. As the first half wore on the visitors settled down and almost got in behind but for the combined efforts of Amad Nallo and the back-to-fitness Luke Chambers.
Quansah came to the fore once again as his positioning stopped various promising situations, commanding those around him brilliantly.
However, the deadlock was broken in spectacular style when Filipe Luiz unleashed what appeared for a moment to be a speculative right-footed effort from the left back, only to beat Vit Jaros all-ends-up to make it 1-0 to Benfica B.
Ryan Gravenberch Was The Best Player On The Pitch Against Everton!
Moments later Jaros kept the lead to within reach and his save was immediately rewarded as Liverpool turned defence into attack and won a corner. Mateusz Musialowski swung in the delivery and found the head of McConnell who had the relatively simple task of guiding his effort beyond Ricardo Ribeiro.
Once again before the break Quansah’s defensive instincts were called into action as the towering centre-back denied Benfica once more. Before the resulting throw in could be taken, a blood-curdling scream from a Portuguese attacker shocked everyone in attendance and led to a melee in the Liverpool penalty area.
After an explanation of an ‘accidental’ stepping on the foot from the referee, Gilson Tavares was booked for his reaction and for laughing at the reasoning.
Both Quansah and Chambers came off at half-time – perhaps a sign of involvement in the upcoming Europa League clash with Toulouse in mind – as the game restarted evenly poised.
JURGEN KLOPP’S PASSIONATE FIST BUMPS AFTER LIVERPOOL WIN THE DERBY! | Liverpool 2-0 Everton
Jaros was by far the busier of the two ‘keepers in the early stages of the second 45, pulling off numerous big saves to keep the scores level and keep Liverpool in the contest.
Musialowski – once dubbed the ‘Polish Messi’ – was a constant thorn in the visitors’ defence and so nearly set up a potential winner for Paul Glatzel only for his pass to be taken off the toes of the frontman at the very last second.
Gordon’s chance came with over an hour on the clock as Scanlon impressed from left-back with his direct and energetic style.
Despite the best efforts from both teams, with time running out the game descended into a niggly encounter with fouls being conceded and feisty tackles coming in and both benches rushing to an incident on the touchline.
Benfica B sub Jose Melro had a glorious chance to steal the points late on but the winger blazed over moments before the referee called a halt to proceedings – albeit his work was not done yet as he continued to brandish yellow cards beyond the final whistle.
A strong performance from the young Reds with Quansah, Chambers, Scanlon and the midfield duo of Thomas Hill and McConnell particularly impressive.
WE WILL HAVE EVERY ANGLE COVERED OF THE REDS’ TRANSFER BUSINESS HERE!
