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Liverpool completed the United States leg of their pre-season tour as they traded tackles with Portuguese side Sporting Club de Portugal at the iconic Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
In what was a highly entertaining fixture, Jurgen Klopp's men found themselves behind after only four minutes after Manchester United target Bruno Fernandes put his team ahead, but in a show of great spirit and determination which has been a hallmark of Liverpool in recent years, they rallied back to take the lead by halftime.
The last goal on the night was scored by the highly-rated Wendel after 54 minutes off a Bruno Fernandes assist and despite both teams best efforts, neither side could find a winner to ensure that the unofficial Western Union Cup would be shared by the two teams.
On a night when Jurgen Klopp was still without the services of key men including Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Alisson and Sadio Mane who were all given extended holidays due to their international exertions, as well as Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita who are sidelined by injuries, some of his players still managed to give in a performance which was arguably the best from three dour, lifeless and winless friendly displays in America.
Out of the 18 players he tried out against Sporting, some impressed more than others. Here are the four players who were most impressive for Liverpool against Sporting CP:
Also See : La Liga Transfer News, EPL Transfer News, Manchester united Transfer News.
#1 Georginio Wijnaldum
The 28-year-old midfielder was his usual boisterous and workaholic self, barely giving the Sporting players space or time on the ball in what was a complete performance by him.
Georginio Wijnaldum started the match in an unfamiliar role on the left hand of attack, but like everything he has done throughout his Liverpool career, the Dutch international did not put a foot wrong.
He was Liverpool's brightest light on the day and capped his fine performance with a well-taken goal, as he was on hand to take advantage of a mistake by Portuguese defender Luis Neto to calmly finish in the net.
Wijnaldum gave way for fellow midfielder Adam Lallana after 76 minutes and he proved that he would be rearing to go once again as Liverpool attempt to build on from their climactic end to last season.
#2 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain spent over one year on the sidelines after damaging his cruciate ligaments in April 2018. The 25-year-old only returned to action towards the tail end of last season and did not play a major role in Liverpool's fairytale campaign.
When defending the club's choice not to augment the squad that performed so well last season, Jurgen Klopp touched on the Chamberlain issue, describing his return to fitness as comparable to Liverpool having a new player.
The English international is a dynamic forward who offers pace and directness to any team and big things were expected from him upon shunning Stamford Bridge for Anfield, but injuries hampered his chances of showcasing his abilities.
In the game against Sporting, the former Arsenal man showed glimpses of just what he is about, as he was constantly full of running and repeatedly got the better of Cristian Borja in their battles out wide.
Chamberlain had a hand in Liverpool's second goal, as it was his cross that was misjudged by Neto and gave Wijnaldum the chance to put Liverpool ahead while he also threatened on numerous other occasions.
On his day, Chamberlain adds dynamism to a vibrant Liverpool squad and the prayer of all Kopites would be for him to remain injury-free.
#3 Divock Origi
Divock Origi played his way into Scouser folklore when he scored a last-minute winner against Everton at Anfield to keep Liverpool's Premier League title hopes alive and he practically became a legend with his two-goal heroics including the winner in the 4-0 remontada against Barcelona in the Champions League and this is without adding his game-sealing goal against Tottenham in the final.
It was his heroics in the last few weeks of the campaign that convinced the club hierarchy to give him a new contract upon the expiration of the former.
With Firmino, Salah and Mane all on leave, Divock Origi was handed a start against Sporting and he took his opportunity well, showing great striker's instincts, awareness and positioning to slot into an empty net after Renan Ribeiro had spilled Jordan Henderson's header in the 24th minute, while he also had another shot cleared off the line and forced some decent saves from Renan.
The perfect syncing and performance level of Liverpool's deadly attacking trio means that displacing them would be a tough chore, and in the absence of recognized backup options, Divock Origi would be Klopp's go-to man when things go south and the Belgian international could well be up to the task.
#4 Simon Mignolet
In scenes which have long been forgotten at Anfield, Simon Mignolet gave fans flashbacks of horror moments from the not too distant past when he had a clanger moment as early as the 4th minute.
Sporting's captain on the night Bruno Fernandes took a long speculative shot from 30 yards out and even he would not have expected to see the ball whizzle into the back of the net, but in a shocking sequence, the Belgian goalkeeper somehow failed to handle with the result being that the ball was parried into the net.
It might seem strange to suggest that Mignolet impressed having started the game so poorly, but the 31-year-old showed real determination to dust himself up from that early horror moment and still give a good account of himself, making a number of saves to keep Liverpool in the game.
Mistakes are part of everybody's lives and Mignolet made his own but did not dwell on it and while he is unlikely to be Liverpool's first choice, bar the early clanger, he showed that he can still be relied upon to be a suitable backup.
