Liverpool started its Asian tour with a 1-1 draw against the kings of South East Asian football, Thailand.
In what is a game that saw more of Liverpool reserves pitted against the Thai national team, it was a good game to gauge the depth of Rafa Benitez's squad. The verdict? Not too good.
Unsurprisingly, the sweltering heat got to the Liverpool players who are used to playing conditions that are way less humid. The torrential rain towards the end of the match also contributed to the play difficulty... a good test for the fitness of the players.
As far as the match has gone, you could see a distinct difference in standards between the Reserve team and the First team of Liverpool. A 10 minute period at the end showcased the very best of the Reds first team... Torres lighted up the match with his exceptional pace and killer instincts, reminiscent of his fantastic season with club and country... Albert Riera showed glimpses of his silky smooth best on the wing, and Mascherano is well... the bad ass you hope to never play against in the centre of the park, he made himself a nuisance and tackled as tigerishly as you expect him to against any opponent. Carragher had a solid first half while Kuyt worked tirelessly from defence to attack. The first team players were impressive though they were wisely preserved by Rafa for fear of over exerting themselves in the Thai climate.
The most impressive Liverpool player of the day happened to be Ryan Babel, the goalscorer for the Reds. Looks like he will have a better season than the last one when he was in and out of the first eleven. He looks to be more assured and decisive on the ball, and is a good option to have when looking for pace and width in the play.
What I was looking out for though was not so much the first team but the lesser known players on the team. It was a good check out session on the youngsters Pacheco, Nemeth, Spearing, Kelly and also a good runout for fringe players like Degen, Dossena, Voronin, Ngog, Leiva.
My honest say is... it does look like none of them is in the same league or even near the standards as the first team of Liverpool, especially in attack where Gerrard and Torres excel. Knowing the fraility of strikers, Liverpool does not look like they have a solid backup plan for Gerrard-Torres. Ngog and Nemeth looked raw and uninvolved, too easily subdued by the less able Thai defenders. Voronin missed a sitter late in the game and really don't look like a part of Rafa's plans for the team. The other quality options like Kuyt seems to have settled on the right flank... while Babel looks more at home now on the wings, which means the options for Rafa down the centre are limited and too lightweight to be considered competitive at the highest level in the BPL.
While Man Utd can switch between Macheda, Owen, Berbatov and Rooney... I am not so sure if Ngog or Nemeth will be able to stand in for Torres or Gerrard. Liverpool looks like the team that threatened to take the BPL title from Man Utd last season but I do think Rafa could do with one more attacking minded player, maybe in the form of Spainards David Villa or David Silva. The balance in the team will reach optimal and the overall attacking play will be less predictable than just Gerrard-Torres. Whether Rafa has the cash to do so is a big question.
Liverpool travels to Singapore next to take on a Singapore selection team in their next pre-season game in South East Asia.
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