Jurgen Klopp hails ‘outstanding’ Singapore fans as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace to claim Standard Chartered Trophy
- More than 50,000 fans flock to Singapore National Stadium for second leg of preseason friendly
- Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool’s win over Crystal Palace ‘was a clear step in the right direction’
Liverpool rounded off their preseason tour of Asia with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Singapore National Stadium on Friday night in an epic battle for the Standard Chartered Trophy.
Following their 4-0 defeat to Manchester United in Bangkok earlier this week, Liverpool looked sharper and slicker as Jordan Henderson scored in the first half and Mohamed Salah grabbed a trademark goal in the second.
In front of some 50,270 fans, Klopp’s side were keen to make a show of their preparedness for the next season as they bounced back from defeat.
“They were good, really good,” Klopp said after the match. “It looked really like proper football, our pressing was extremely obvious, which is very important for us.”
Like Bangkok, Klopp’s started his Singapore line up with a less experienced squad, leaving the more experienced players including new signings Nunez and Carvalho on the bench as substitutes.
Harvey Elliott made a strong start giving the reds control of the ball right from the get go. Aided by Elliott’s brilliant play, Liverpool scored their first goal by captain Henderson in the 13th minute.
The second half saw new signings Fabio Carvalho and Darwin Nunez fielded in together with Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Thiago Alcantara, Sepp Van den berg and a first-ever outing for goalkeeper Harvey Davies, who is set to serve as fourth choice throughout 2022/23.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered a muscle injury at the 43rd minute, with his place taken by the youngster Leighton Clarkson.
“We were much more compact today. We still played really good football – which we did against United as well. We scored twice, which we didn’t do. It was a clear step in the right direction and that makes me really happy,” Klopp said.
“It’s our second game and we have to work a lot in the next four weeks, I would say especially, to prepare the rest of the season. There are already Premier League games but anyway we have to use the time because from mid-September on we will not have time to train any more because we just play then every three days.”
Jordan Ayew failed to find the net for Crystal Palace in what was largely a lack lustre performance. Palace made substitutions in the 65th minute with Malachi Boateng, Jake O’Brien, Omotayo Adaramola and Malcolm Ebiowei, but their impact was not felt.
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira conceded that the Liverpool squad were the better team.
“This is the game that allowed us to make a step forward, we are progressing, technically we have things to work on but we are making some progress.”
Liverpool now head to Germany and Austria to play against RB Leizpig and RB Salzburg, while Crystal Palace will fly to Australia to play against Manchester United in Melbourne and Leeds in Perth.
