Pre Season Friendly
Wed 22nd July 2009 2pm, National Stadium, Bangkok
Xabi Alonso didn’t take part in this game (the club said ‘slight ankly injury’ – many others say he withdrew himself from selection) which saw the reds start brightly through an early Ryan Babel goal, before fading away and conceding a second half equaliser in the humidity of the National Stadium in Bangkok.
Martin Skrtel and El Zhar also left the field after picking up knocks in the game – Skrtel appeared to be clutching at his hamstring before he gingerly walked off.
One thing that definitely wasn’t missing was the support as tens of thousands of Liverpool fans turned up to support the reds.
LFC First Half: Cavalieri, Degen, Agger, Carragher, Insua, Kuyt, Babel, Lucas, Plessis, Ngog, Nemeth.
The reds started brightly, dominating all the early exchanges and in the 6th minute a long ball from Carragher landed in Babel’s path who managed to hold off the chasing centre back to slot the ball in to the net.
Nemeth saw a bit of the ball and showed some nice touches, although was over-elaborate at times.
Kuyt worked tirelessly, not bad for the birthday boy, and Lucas delivered a fantastic cross from which Ryan Babel should have done better than place the ball wide of the post.
As the first half wore on Liverpool player’s looked tired and the Thai national side gained a foothold on the game. They were handed the perfect chance with a free kick just before half time – but fired over the bar, before putting their next free kick out for a throw in.
LFC Second Half: Gulacsi (Reina 75), Kelly, San Jose, Skrtel (Dossena 55), Johnson, El Zhar (Arbeloa 57), Spearing, Babel (Riera 75), Mascherano, Pacheco (Torres 78), Voronin
Liverpool made some big changes for the second half but struggled from the outset. The game was becoming bogged down in midfield and it was made worse 10 minutes in when El Zhar attempted an acrobat overhead kick, only managing to injure himself in the process. Within a minute Skrtel went to clear a ball before clutching his leg in pain. Both players were replaced shortly after.
With just under 20 minutes remaining Thailand passed their way around the reds midfield before playing a through ball through the reds unfamiliar defensive duo to equalise.
Riera and Torres were sent on and within 30 seconds of joining the game, Nando had nearly found a reds winner. He had another opportunity later on with a diving header but in the end it was too little too late.
Liverpool move to Singapore, still without a win in pre-season.
Goals
Babel (6), Sutee (76)
Team News
LFC First Half: Cavalieri, Degen, Agger, Carragher, Insua, Kuyt, Babel, Lucas, Plessis, Ngog, Nemeth.
LFC Second Half: Gulacsi (Reina 75), Kelly, San Jose, Skrtel (Dossena 55), Johnson, El Zhar (Arbeloa 57), Spearing, Babel (Riera 75), Mascherano, Pacheco (Torres 78), Voronin
Att: 48,000
Pictures