It gets worse for Karius: Five things learned from Liverpool 1-3 Dortmund

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Liverpool suffered their first loss of pre-season as Borussia Dortmund came from behind to beat them 3-1 in the International Champions Cup.

After a close opening 25 minutes, Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring for Liverpool with a powerful header following Andy Robertson’s well-aimed cross.

But just as Liverpool looked likely to increase their lead after half-time, Christian Pulisic equalised for Dortmund from the penalty spot having won himself a foul.

And Pulisic played a huge part in the German side’s winning goals, scoring the second before providing an assist for Dortmund’s third.

Here are five things we learned from the Jurgen Klopp derby in America.

1. Christian Pulisic passes his audition

Linked with a move to Liverpool in recent days, Christian Pulisic started the match on Sunday on the substitutes bench – much to the disappointment of the crowd in Charlotte.

But at half-time the 19-year-old was brought on and his substitution met with an eruption among the fans, by far and away the biggest cheer of the night aside from the opening rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Despite reportedly being eligible and offered to play for Croatia, through his grandfather, Pulisic is very much a man of the United States and is the country’s brightest spark in football having been a part of the USMNT since 2016 – at just 17.

For Dortmund, Pulisic somehow found his side a way back into the game, winning a penalty midway through the second half having worked nicely in the box.

The American then took the ball off Mario Gotze and duly dispatched from the spot to draw Dortmund level and give the US crowd a goal from one of their own.

And America’s Sweetheart doubled the excitement among the crowd, scoring the winning goal with minutes remaining – potentially passing his audition for a Liverpool move.

2. Daniel Sturridge is not giving up on his Liverpool career.

Every Liverpool fan, neutral, pundit and journalist may have given up on Daniel Sturridge’s Anfield career but the man himself clearly hasn’t.

With Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane all yet to be included in pre-season owing to their World Cup campaigns, Sturridge has been given chances to lead the line for the Reds in each of their five friendlies to date.

His fifth appearance, coming on as a half-time substitute against Dortmund, brought an extra level to his side and was arguably his best performance of the pre-season despite not finding the net.

Troubled with injuries in the past, Sturridge looked fresh and as slick as he did in the 2013/14 season – his best career year to date – when he put numerous defences to the sword alongside Luis Suarez.

The former Chelsea man should have had an assist before Dortmund drew level, as he neatly played in Sheyi Ojo for a one-on-one opportunity but the latter’s shot was diverted onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Marwin Hitz.

At the same time, the likes of Dominic Solanke and Divock Origi have struggled to make an impact on pre-season, boosting Sturridge up the list.

3. Injury scare for Matip

Virgil van Dijk is excellent, and Dejan Lovren may well go into the new season with confidence following his run to the World Cup final with Croatia.

But against Dortmund, Klopp’s first-choice back-up Joel Matip lasted just 17 minutes before walking off with a suspected thigh injury.

The forced change came in the German’s third game of pre-season having only recently returned from hamstring injury which ruled him out from the end of last term and the Champions League final.

Speaking before the game, Matip admitted he had yet to return to full fitness and was hoping it would present another step to recovery.

Matip told the club’s official website: “I’m on a good way.

“I still need some time but I feel good and I enjoy being back on the pitch.

“I will go step by step and I think these next days will help me to increase my fitness level and to get in better shape.”

No news about the extent of his injury has yet been revealed but Liverpool fans may be looking to the transfer window at Domagoj Vida or Diego Godin as a precaution should the outcome be bad.

4. Dortmund desperate for a striker

For all their exciting wingers, and there are many of them, Dortmund are lacking that killer touch in front of goal.

In the past, the Schwarzgelben have been fortunate to call upon the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and even Michy Batshuayi to provide the finishing touch.

Michy Batshuayi could be one to fix Dortmund’s problems this season

Last season in the Bundesliga, Dortmund scored 64 goals, 13 of which were scored by Aubameyang who finished as the club’s top scorer despite leaving in January.

Batshuayi managed seven and was third in Dortmund’s goalscoring charts, despite not playing his first game until February and having his loan spell cut short due to injury.

But against Liverpool, the German side were poor in front of goal with no one able to put much pressure on the Reds’ defence when their wide players had broken through – despite being saved by Pulisic after his arrival.

Unlike their opponents on Sunday, Dortmund do have until the end of August to finalise all their transfer dealing and a striker – possibly even Batshuayi on a permanent deal – much be number one on Lucien Favre’s list.

5. Loris Karius proves why Klopp looked at Alisson

For 91 minutes of the match, Loris Karius had little to do despite conceded two goals, with the first from the penalty spot and another guided through his defender’s legs.

But as Dortmund pushed for a third, the German had yet another moment to forget as hey parried Pulisic’s shot straight into the path of Jacob Bruun Larsen to put the game past Liverpool late on.

Karius has not had the best couple of months at the club following the now-infamous Champions League final in which he made two mistakes as Liverpool lost 3-1.

First, it was footage circling the internet of a howler during a warm up ahead of Liverpool’s game against Chester and then a mistake against Tranmere Rovers which led to a goal.

And now, the latest addition to his growing list of mistakes may be one of the last he gets the opportunity to make with new signing Alisson joining up with Liverpool at the start of next week.

The post It gets worse for Karius: Five things learned from Liverpool 1-3 Dortmund appeared first on Squawka News.



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