Liverpool trained ahead of a big game against Manchester City, and it was a good session for Jürgen Klopp. As a wonderkid returns, options abound
Liverpool returns to action this weekend, and they couldn’t have faced a more difficult opponent after a 17-day break. A trip to Manchester City is on the horizon.
Jürgen Klopp, the manager, will be especially keen to have options ahead of the game, and that appears to be the case following the latest Liverpool training session, with a slew of released photos showing a slew of boosts for the manager ahead of the game.
The big news is, of course, the return of Luis Daz. But the good news keeps coming, as Klopp is now faced with a major decision in one area of the field in particular.
Away from the immediate first-team squad, there was also a boost in the youth ranks, with a wonderkid who suffered an injury just before the break returning to train with Klopp and the rest of the group.
Overall, it appeared to be a very positive session, putting Liverpool in the best possible position going into the crucial match. This was captured by Liverpool.com as the Reds trained at the AXA Training Centre.
Daz is joined by five other people.
This season, the Liverpool treatment room has been a bit of a revolving door. The pessimist would have feared that even if Daz returned, one or more of his attacking partners would have been sidelined — especially given that Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, and Darwin Nez have all missed games due to injury to varying degrees this season.
However, all six of Klopp’s attacking options have trained together for the first time. Daz is training for the first time with January acquisition Cody Gakpo, while Nez has recovered from a cut that kept him out of the internationals. Mohamed Salah is as fit as ever, and Firmino and Jota also took part in the session.
With six senior attackers at his disposal, Klopp is suddenly faced with some difficult decisions.
Keta is nowhere to be found.
The ‘international break’ version of Naby Keta has been on full display in recent days. Guinea’s recent games have shown that he is still capable of being the player Liverpool hoped to sign while he was away with his country.
Keta was playing and scoring just three days ago as he captained his team to a 3-2 victory over Ethiopia. In the present day, there is no sign of him in Liverpool training.
This does not necessarily imply that he did not participate in the session. Even if he was absent, it was possible that he simply returned from international duty later than some of his peers. But, when he does return, Liverpool will not be expecting the same player who has shone so brightly on the international stage, ahead of an expected split in the summer.Take a step back.
Before the international break, Liverpool experienced double European misery. The senior team was eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid, while the young Reds were eliminated from the UEFA Youth League by Sporting CP, narrowly missing out on the club’s farthest ever progress in the competition.
That wasn’t helped by Ben Doak’s forced early withdrawal, who couldn’t play after suffering a possible concussion. However, the Scottish wonderkid, who has been illuminating the academy this season and has even made his first-team debut under Klopp, was present at the most recent training session, taking part alongside the senior squad.
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