Pre-season friendly: Melbourne Victory 0-2 Liverpool

Steven Gerrard's first-half strike and a late Iago Aspas goal sealed an encouraging 2-0 win over Melbourne Victory in the second game of the Reds' three-match summer tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The skipper's composed finish and Aspas' tap-in epitomised the entire team's impressive performance as they eased their way to yet another victory to maintain their 100 per cent record in pre-season so far.

Wholesale changes were made in the second half and the starting side's replacements looked just as assured in front of the 95,000 sell-out crowd as Brendan Rodgers' squad continued their preparations for the 2013-14 campaign.

An opening quarter of an hour that was starved of goalmouth action forced both sides to bid to break the deadlock in more ambitious circumstances.
Raheem Sterling caught a sight of goal but unfortunately sliced his 25-yard effort wide before Andrew Nabbout tested Brad Jones from similar range. A firm effort from the front-man forced the Australian custodian to palm away the danger.

Gerrard cut across Sterling's pass with a fierce strike that Nathan Coe leapt across to save before the Victory goalkeeper was rendered helpless by the Reds captain shortly after the half-hour mark.

Joe Allen surged through midfield and showed patience before sliding a pinpoint pass through to the onrushing Gerrard, allowing the skipper to calmly tuck the ball into the corner.

Full report: Official Liverpool FC

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Pre-season friendly: Preston North End 0-4 Liverpool

Debutant Iago Aspas' second-half curling strike aided Liverpool to a comfortable 4-0 win over Preston North End in their Shankly Shield match at the Deepdale Stadium.

Jordon Ibe also scored his first senior Reds goal in what was a resounding win in Brendan Rodgers' side's first pre-season game ahead of the 2013-14 campaign.

New signings Luis Alberto, Simon Mignolet and Kolo Toure also featured as further composed finishes from Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling helped ease the visitors to victory.

Amidst the intense heat within the ground, Daniel Agger was the first to test Lilywhites custodian Declan Rudd with a typically well-struck long-range drive.

The Dane - who was installed as captain for the day - drilled a stinging 30-yard shot that Rudd could only parry, before Preston quickly reacted to clear the danger.

Liverpool's constant pressing paid dividends in the 13th minute when Coutinho forced former Reds midfielder John Welsh into giving away a penalty.

The North End captain hesitated in possession deep into the home side's half before the determined Brazilian stole the ball away from him. In a desperate bid to regain possession, Welsh hauled the 21-year-old to the ground - leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot.

After dusting himself off, Coutinho stepped up to casually tap the spot-kick into the corner - sending Rudd the wrong way in the process.

A period lacking goalmouth action ensued before Liverpool began re-applying pressure on Preston's backline.

Full report: Official Liverpool FC

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Liverpool’s fourth signing imminent

Liverpool are on a spending spree. First, the Reds signed Kolo Toure on a free transfer. Luis Alberto checking in from Sevilla and Iago Aspas completed his move to Anfield yesterday.

Liverpool are ready to rekindle their long-standing interest in Eljero Elia.

According to TalkSport, Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers has set his attention to Elia, currently at Werder Bremen.

Liverpool's interest in the Dutchman dates back to his time at Hamburg but they missed out on him when he signed for Juventus.

Elia moved to Bremen in 2012 for £5million and Rodgers has tracked his progress - with a potential move now in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have yet to agree a deal with Sunderland to sign goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, according to the player's agent.

The two clubs had reportedly agreed a fee in excess of £11million for the Belgium international, who has won 13 caps for his country.

But the 25-year-old's representative, Guy Vandermissen, says he has still not been informed from either club that a deal has been done.

Elsewhere, Liverpool have reportedly agreed to meet the €10m (£8.5million) release clause written into Barcelona attacker Cristian Tello's contract but now must look to persuade the young Spaniard to move to Anfield according to Sport.es.

Barcelona may well be ready to sell a number of their squad players as Tito Vilanova eyes up the purchase of a central defender this summer, having already forked out £48m to sign Brazilian starlet Neymar.

However 21-year-old Tello is apparently leaning towards sticking with Barcelona for at least another season to see if he can force his way into a more prominent role in Vilanova's first team set-up.

The adaptable forward, who can play up front in an central striking role or out wide on either wing, was handed just 12 La Liga starts last term and only two starts in the Champions League but did manage to net eight goals in all competitions.

The arrival of Neymar is sure to leave Tello playing an even more limited role in Tito Vilanova's first team set-up with the locally born Barcelona player already having to challenge the likes of David Villa, Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro for a spot supporting Lionel Messi in the Catalan giant's attack.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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Liverpool want-away star striker scores a fine free kick

Confederations Cup: SPAIN 2 URUGUAY 1

 

 

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Liverpool pushing for a new goalkeeper

Liverpool are believed to be closing in of the signing of Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, plunging the future of Pepe Reina at Anfield into serious doubt.

A deal for the Belgian international could go through as early as this week, with a fee believed to be in the £10 million region. Should he make the trip south to Liverpool, the likelihood that either Mignolet or Reina would be comfortable sitting on the bench is hugely unlikely, with recent reports linking Reina with a move back to Spain.

Barcelona were considered to be interested in his services with the seemingly impending departure of current goalkeeper Victor Valdes, but Valdes has recent announced that he will complete his final year on his contract with the La Liga champions before leaving after next season.

Sunderland, though, will not be keen to sell Mignolet, who was their Player of the Year in the 2012/13 season.

But the 25-year-old, who has also been linked with Arsenal, has only two years remaining on his contract and Sunderland will know his value will decrease as time drags on.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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Liverpool set for double raid on Spanish club

Liverpool are preparing for a double raid on Spanish Primera Liga side, Sevilla. Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic has admitted he is flattered to be linked with a move to Liverpool.

Luis Alberto, 20, has been linked with a move to the Reds for some time and last week spoke of his imminent arrival at Anfield, saying he’d be “foolish” to turn down the Reds’ offer.

Alberto spent last season on loan at Barcelona B, scoring 11 times in 37 appearances.

Sevilla were keen to keep hold of their exciting young prospect but are now believed to be willing to do business as long as the Reds agree to some supplementary add-ons that could eventually take the deal up to £8million.

Meanwhile, the Croatia international is reportedly attracting interest from Anfield and he has now reiterated his stance that he will only stay with the La Liga side if they bolster their squad.

"I'm really flattered that I'm being linked with such a big club like Liverpool," Rakitic told 24sata.

"I heard that something is happening, but for now there is no concrete offer.

"My brother, who is taking care of my career, is doing all the business about my future.

"But I will repeat what I said before: I will only stay at Sevilla if they will strengthen the team.

"I made it quite clear about that and they know that they have to buy some good players."

25-year-old Rakitic has previous playing experience for Basel in Switzerland and Schalke in Germany.

He has made 53 appearances for his country, scoring 9 international goals.

Source: FoxSports

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Liverpool set to complete £7.7M deal for Celta Vigo striker

According to The Guardian, Liverpool are close to completing their second signing of the summer after Iago Aspas arrived on Merseyside to finalise his £7.7m move from Celta Vigo. The 25-year-old forward travelled to Liverpool on Monday, having cancelled a holiday to the Caribbean once he became aware of interest from Anfield, and will undergo a medical on Tuesday before sealing the transfer from his boyhood club.

Aspas, 25, was tracked by Rodgers throughout last season and he initially intended his purchase to complement rather than replace Suárez.

With Suárez’s future looking increasingly to be away from Anfield and Daniel Sturridge fighting to be fit for the start of the season, Rodgers will have to find further striking recruits in the next few months.

Suárez’s public flirtation with Madrid has continued as he has spoken of the attraction of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Aspas can operate across the front line and scored 12 goals in Celta's return to the top flight last season following five years in the second division. He had offers from Valencia, Portuguese and Italian teams plus Swansea City, whose failure to conclude the deal has added to Michael Laudrup's frustrations at the Liberty Stadium, but cleared the way for a move to Liverpool after settling a contractual issue with Celta Vigo.

Source: The Guardian

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Former Liverpool boss wants Reds defender at Stadio San Paolo

Liverpool have placed a €14million price tag on its central defender, Slovakian international, Martin Skrtel as manager Brendan Roders looks to trim their squad of underperformers this summer.

Reports have widely been speculating that Napoli are interested in signing Skrtel, with incoming manager Rafael Benitez seeing the 28-year-old as a solid defender who can offer continuity to the Serie A side's backline.

This is despite a below par season for Liverpool in which Skrtel ended up losing his place to Jamie Carragher in the second half of the season.

With Brendan Rodgers already acquiring Kolo Toure, Skrtel, could team up again with Rafa Benitez, who brought the defender to England five years ago.

"It is too easy to say, but if there is contact from the Blues then we will begin to evaluate it," Skrtel's agent Karol Csonto told Italian paper Tutto Mercato.

"Napoli are a great club and Benitez is a great coach, but Skrtel is a Liverpool player and for this reason he is already looking to the next season with the Reds."

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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