Liverpool Beat Wrexham... But This Was Concerning

Liverpool got the win, Rio Engelmoor got the headlines, but the biggest talking point was the return of a familiar technical issue that could define the season. Liverpool scraped a 1-0 win against Wrexham in the Yankee Stadium in New York, the second game of their US tour, courtesy of a Rio Engelmoor's deflected shot that looped over the goalkeeper. Fortuitous, I know, disappointing for Wrexham, they had really put up a good defensive block and organised themselves well, but really Liverpool struggled, especially in the first half. Defenders were looking for runners in midfield, an opportunity to pass the ball, they found it difficult, and the same with the midfielders, when they tried to move the ball forward to the front runners, there was not enough movement. We looked scared to try and lose possession, and we did lose possession because some of our passes were intercepted or went astray, and Wrexham really were well organised, their passing and keeping possession was very good. They even attacked us some more, we had one chance very early on, one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but the Wrexham keeper made a good save, and a shot flew past Mamadash Philly's right-hand post to really put up a warning. Got to half-time, 0-0. It was a very, very boring first half. In the second half, we had the introduction of Rio Engelmoor playing down the right, and a few more first-teamers came on, but the impetus was a bit better from Liverpool. They pressed forward, they kept possession, but again, finding the ball to go forward was difficult, so there was too much passing sideways and backwards, and after we scored in the 75th minute, it became obvious that Liverpool were, I was hoping that they would go for a second goal, but they didn't. They seemed to be quite comfortable with the 1-0 win. Wrexham's manager, Phil Parkinson, will be very proud of his team. They stood up, they played, they played their hearts out, and they almost got an equaliser towards the end of the game. Karchi got down the left-hand side, bags of space, put a cross in across the six-yard box, and Moore managed to put his left foot shot over the bar when it looked a lot easier to score. Had that gone in, I think 1-1 would have been a very good score for both sides. Wrexham deserved a draw and came away with nothing. Liverpool, on the other hand, well, we've got problems. We're showing that slow, slow speed and not moving forward quick enough like we did in the first game against Sunderland. It looks, I thought with the new manager, we would be seeing more attacking flow, not the remnants of last season where we were obviously deep in possession, allowing the opposition to pull all 11 men back in their own half, making it very difficult to break them down, and that's what we saw in this game. Obviously, we did see some good signs. Several youngsters did stand out. In my mind, Higway and Chambers at the back, they were good. Ramsey, right back, he was solid. McConnell, Morrison, Cumas, he impressed me quite a bit. But then again, he was up against a very experienced and seasoned defender and found it difficult. But it's a good learning curve for him. Even when Will Wright came on to replace Cumas, he found the same thing. But we looked a lot better in the second half. We looked a little more as though we had a sharper edge. We looked as though we wanted to press forward and score, and we did. So all in all, a 1-0 win, two out of two on this US tour, and we look forward to the next match in a couple of days' time, when Liverpool take on Leeds at the Soldier Field in Chicago. Leeds will be a totally different kettle of fish. We should have some first-teamers back. Gratton Birch, Weitz, Isak and McAllister have all joined the squad since the tour started in America, and so we might see, and should see, them play at least part of the game. So we'll see a little bit more structure and a little bit more potential going forward, just like we want to see how Liverpool are going to go. Manager Antonio Rola, post-match interview on the pitch, he was quite upbeat, but he was complaining about the pitch being too small, too narrow, not enough width. Having said that, you play with what you've got. Wrexham managed to play alright, but we didn't. So deep down, I think he's got problems. I think he's got to put his thinking hat on. We need more players. Our transfer market is very quiet at the moment, but we've got to go forward. We've got less than a month until the Premier League starts, and so a lot of work's got to be done. So all in all, Liverpool win, marks out the 10. I'll give them a 3 out of 10. Must do better next time.