Sydney FC saw a hard-fought affair against Premier League giants, Liverpool FC, finish 3-0 in front of a packed ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night.
Summary
Liverpool FC 3 (Sturridge 8’, Moreno 18’, Firmino 39’) def. Sydney FC 0
Sydney FC saw a hard-fought affair against Premier League giants, Liverpool FC, finish 3-0 in front of a packed ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night.
Following a fantastic rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, the visitors started the brighter as they pressed the A-League champions deep into their own half.
With Sydney under pressure, the Reds soon found their reward after Daniel Sturridge drove his low shot past an outstretched Danny Vukovic into the far corner.
Despite fashioning their fair share of chances, the Sky Blues were unable to breach a stubborn Liverpool defence, and were soon made to pay as both Alberto Moreno and Roberto Firmino found the back of the net before half-time.
As both sides began the second-half with a host of changes, Graham Arnold’s men managed to gain control of possession and conjure up some notable sights on goal in the process.
But in the end, it was not to be as a Steven Gerrard-led Liverpool side held on for a memorable win against the reigning, record-breaking A-League champions.
What They Said
Graham Arnold: “It was good for the fans and a nice clean game while a lot of our younger players got the opportunity to play.
“It’s good for our Australian kids to come up against that type of quality. They think “I’m doing well” but then they find out what’s like to play against an English Premier League player.
“It has been tough the last two weeks to keep the boys going after the Grand Final but you’ve got to give them credit for going out and doing their best.”
Goals
8’ STURRIDGE GOAL – Sturridge receives the ball on the edge of the box before creating enough space to cut in and drive his shot low and hard into the far corner.
18’ MORENO GOAL – Firmino lifts a gorgeous ball over Sydney’s defence and into the path of Moreno who makes no mistake with the volley.
39’ FIRMINO GOAL – Sturridge beats Zullo with an excellent piece of skill before firing a cutback across goal that Firmino taps home with ease.
Key Moments
34’ CARNEY CHANCE – Carney pounces on the cutback inside the box, but his powerful shot is blocked.
35’ VUKOVIC SAVE – Firmino strides into the penalty area but cannot find the net, as Vukovic stays big to make the save.
48’ BLACKWOOD CHANCE – Blackwood tries his luck from distance but his volley drags wide of the goal.
49’ GRANT CHANCE – Grant bursts through the midfield before firing a shot that flies high and over the bar.
60’ LOKOLINGOY CHANCE – Lokolingoy drives a low ball across goal but Liverpool manage to hook it away at the back post.
80’ ZUVELA CHANCE – Zuvela collects the ball on the right-hand side of the box before testing Mignolet with a shot at his near post.
82’ MUTCH CHANCE – A curling Gonzalez cross finds an unmarked Mutch, but he fails to make meaningful contact with the ball and squanders clear-cut chance to reduce the deficit.
84’ SIMON CHANCE – After being played in on-goal, Simon fires a powerful shot that calls Mignolet into action with a diving save.
Team News
Liverpool FC 3 (Sturridge 8’, Moreno 18’, Firmino 39’) def. Sydney FC 0
Head Coach Graham Arnold named a near full-strength line-up for the clash as the A-League champions looked to finish off their record-breaking season in style.
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Referee: Peter Green
Attendance: 72,892
Sydney FC: 20. Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 4. Alex WILKINSON (25. Patrick FLOTTMANN 86’), 6. Joshua BRILLANTE (31. Matthew GREEN 70’), 7. Michael ZULLO (33. Cristian GONZALEZ 70’), 9. BOBÔ (18. Matt SIMON 46’), 13. Brandon O’NEILL (28. Nicola KULESKI 81’), 14. Alex BROSQUE (c) (26. Chris ZUVELA 59’), 17. David CARNEY (24. Charles LOKOLINGOY 59’), 19. George BLACKWOOD (27. William MUTCH 75’), 22. Sebastian RYALL, 23. Rhyan GRANT.
Subs not used: 32. Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 16. George TIMOTHEOU, 29. Bai ANTONIOU.
Yellow cards: None.
Red cards: None.
Liverpool FC: 1. Loris KARIUS (gk) (22. Simon MIGNOLET (gk) (75’), 4. Jamie CARRAGHER (24. Daniel AGGER 46’), 6. Dejan LOVREN (32. Joel MATIP 46’), 8. Steven GERRARD (25. Steve McMANAMAN 46’), 11. Roberto FIRMINO (20. Adam LALLANA 46’), 15. Daniel STURRIDGE (57. Rhian BREWSTER 46’), 18. Alberto MORENO (56. Connor RANDALL 58’), 21. Lucas LEIVA (35. Kevin STEWART 46’), 58. Ben WOODBURN, 59. Harry WILSON (17. Ragnar KLAVAN 46’), 66. Trent ALEXANDER-ARNOLD.
Subs not used: None.
Yellow cards: None.
Red cards: None.
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