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Results & Fixtures
Liverpool U21s 1 - Leicester City U21s 1, Monday September 2nd
On an otherwise quiet day, Alex Inglethorpe's Liverpool Under-21s were back in league action on Monday at the King Power Stadium against Leicester City. Martin Kelly's rehab assignment continued with another runout at center-back, and, with Stephen Sama getting the corresponding right-back starting position, Ryan McLaughlin was given an opportunity to further mimic Glen Johnson with an appearance at left back. 16 year old Jordan Rossiter continues to be selected, and to impress, in the starting XI for the U21s. The game was cagey and defensive, with few chances for either side in the early going, but after halftime the game opened up. A series of chances lead to the eventual breakthrough, with the hosts scoring out of nothing after Liverpool failed to cover back on a throw in. Liverpool responded quickly, as Joao Carlos Teixeira, who impressed with his vision and control throughout, scored with a stunning free kick won by McLaughlin with some impressive dribbling. Liverpool proceeded to fire a series of quality chances at the Leicester keeper but were unable to beat him, and the match ended level. Teixeira seems to be fulfilling many of our high hopes for him from preseason, and McLaughlin continues to show promise at both fullback positions.
Liverpool team: Danny Ward, Sama, Kelly (captain), Lloyd Jones, McLaughlin, Jordan Lussey, Rossiter, Jack Dunn, Kristoffer Peterson (Cameron Brannagan), Adam Morgan, Teixeira. Unused subs: Yusuf Mersin, Joe Maguire, Yalany Baio
The Under 21s have had a mixed start to the season, with 4 points through 3 matches, and find themselves in 10th place in the U21 Premier League table, with their next match coming up next Tuesday, hosting first-place Sunderland at Anfield.
Newark Liberty International Soccer Summit
Last week's coverage of Liverpool's progress in the Newark Liberty International Soccer Summit ended with Liverpool needing a win over Maccabi Haifa to progress to the tournament final. And after 6 minutes, Harry Wilson's strike made it appear to be on the cards. But Haifa equalized in the 71st minute and Liverpool seemed headed towards disappointment. The youngest player in the squad, 15 year old Adam Philips, wasn't keen on disappointment. He scored a dramatic, injury time winner, firing his side into the finals against Queens Park Rangers.
Unfortunately, Liverpool's young U18 side, playing its fourth game in five days, ran out of gas in the finals, falling to QPR 5-1. Sergi Canos looked bright early, but a collection of defensive errors gifted some easy goals to QPR and it turned out to be a big scoreline for the Hoops. International tournaments are always great experience for young players, and that Liverpool made it to the finals is a great achievement. Now the side returns to England to focus on the Barclays U18 Premier League, with the next match coming up next Saturday against Chelsea.
Internationals Roundup
Several of Liverpool's young players were involved in international matches this week. Here's a quick rundown:
In Euro-U21 qualifiers,Suso started and played 80 very effective minutes, in Spain U21s 6-2 victory over Austria U21s [video]. Suso is already making waves in Spain this season which hugely encouraging for Liverpool fans. Also in the Euro-U21 qualifying group play, Kristzian Adorjan came on as a halftime substitute, assisting a goal and converting a penalty in Hungary U21s 4-1 win against Bosnia & Herzegovina. Finally, Jordon Ibe started, scored, and played 90 minutes in England U19s 6-1 victory over Estonia, in a final tuneup before the Euro-U19 qualifiers get underway in October.
General News & Notes
Critchley Officially Appointed Under-18 Coach
We mentioned the rumors in a previous update, and yesterday Liverpool have confirmed Neil Critchley's appointment as the new Liverpool Under-18 manager. As mentioned there, Critchley is an enormously highly rated youth coach, and his capture can only be considered another very positive sign for the evolution of Liverpool's academy.
Chirivella Knock Keeping Him Out of Action
Liverpool's USA traveling party did not include summer signing Pedro Chirivella, prompting some to wonder what the player's status was—he and Canos have still yet to appear in the Barclays U18 Premier League for Liverpool due to international clearance hangups—and the player confirmed recently that it is an achilles tendon knock keeping him out of action both for Liverpool and the Spain U-17 squad for which he was recently selected. Valencia were not so keen to lose Chirivella to England, and hopefully Liverpool can clear up his clearance and injury issues so we can get a better look at the promising midfielder.
No podré ir con la Seleccion Española a Bélgica por a unas molestias en el tendón de aquiles, toca quedarse aquí recuperando al 100% 1/2
— Pedro Chirivella (@pedro5chiri) September 6, 2013