A theme for Liverpool through their first pre-season under new head coach Andoni Iraola has been strong first halves followed up by weaker seconds. Some of that has been down to substitutions, some has been down to the fitness demands of Iraola’s high-intensity approach, but reasons aside it has been noticable.
On Sunday in their headlining second friendly against Como at Anfield, we got another example of Iraola’s Reds storming out of the gate in the first half and taking a 2-0 lead. Then, in the second, even with fewer changes than in previous matches things became more laboured. Still, on this occasion they held on to their lead and the game ended as the first half had with a 2-0 scoreline.
“I think we needed a little bit this feeling of finishing with a clean sheet and winning the game,” Iraola said after the match. “Still the first half was better than the second, but at least we kept our organisation, we kept our our composure, and we found a way to finish with a clean sheet and I think we needed this feeling before we start.”
Como were last season’s surprise upstarts in Serie A, ending the year in fourth and qualifying for the Champions League this season. It was probably Liverpool’s toughest test of pre-season, and along with that it was their best performance. Newcastle this coming Sunday in the Premier League opener, though, will be another step up in difficulty for this group.
“I think we are better than we were last week,” Iraola added. “Still, I hope next week we are better than we were today. It’s maybe normal at this stage that first halves will still be better than second halves. But today a lot of players played 90 minutes with no cramps, nothing major. So it’s about building these fitness levels.
“It’s also important to, even when you are not so fresh, keep focus so you don’t make the big mistakes. So I think it’s an improvement but still, and especially in the second half, we needed to be better. At the end, we still need more training together, and I think we can use these coming weeks—and we have full weeks—so we are really ready for the league.”