Liverpool kicked off their pre-season friendlies in still last weekend with a classy 4-0 win over Preston North End.
There is still a lot of work to do before the Reds are ready for the new league campaign but if the display in this game is anything to go by then it will be a great season because all of the players seem like they are up for the challenge.
The heat was a big factor in this game with the referee letting the players stop for regular fluid intake - which was definitely needed since inside the stadium the temperatures reportedly soared to close to 40 degrees.
Initially the game was pretty timid but after about 10 minutes the players were getting into it and really starting to put pressure on Preston.
The breakthrough came around 13 minutes when Coutinho coolly slotted in a penalty whilst looking like he takes them all the time. That wasn't the young Brazilian's only contribution to the game as his magic feet constantly caused the Preston defenders and keeper trouble.
It took a little while for Liverpool to come up with the second goal but when it came, it was a good one with 17-year-old Jordan Ibe slotting in his first senior goal for the club and his reaction just showed he was happy to break his duck so soon in his first team career.
Notable mentions during the first half going to Kolo Toure, who on his début made a good first impression even though he had little to do and Joe Allen who surprisingly controlled the midfield extremely well, could this be his season?
The second half brought about quite a few changes plus the inclusion of new boys Aspas and Luis Alberto.
This half was a good half for Liverpool as the football seemed to flow and have real purpose plus the boys weren't afraid to have a go at goal or get stuck in. That paid off for Aspas who coolly slotted home Liverpool's third and looked pretty pleased with himself for getting off the mark so quickly.
Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing looked good in the second half also, both obviously looking to carry on where they finished off last season - both still need a little bit of work (and maybe in Stewart's case a little kick up the behind at times!!), but they did look good.
Liverpool's fourth came in the form of a good goal from Sterling. In all honestly the youngster had looked extremely lively since he had come on and that was his reward.
Special mention has to go to Martin Kelly who came back from 10 months out for the last 10 minutes of this game and even though he didn't have a lot to do, he looked good and like all his hard work may be starting to pay off - moment of the match for me was seeing the official put up a board with his number on it! So glad he's back.
All in all a good first game for Liverpool, here's to more good things to come.
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