Second-half goals from Lazar Markovic and Daniel Sturridge earned Liverpool a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in their pre-season friendly at Ewood Park on Thursday evening.
The Reds missed a penalty early on through James Milner and then hit the post towards the end of the opening 45 minutes from a close-range Adam Lallana effort.
A completely different outfield 10 saw the visitors over the line, though, with Markovic thumping home from a one-on-one position and Sturridge also keeping his cool 10 minutes later.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the pre-season friendly encounter between Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool at Ewood Park. The Reds are running out for the third time this summer, having so far overcome Chester FC and Tranmere Rovers, before being held to a goalless draw at to Bury last weekend.
Blackburn's season begins a week sooner than the Reds', with their Championship opener now a little over a fortnight away. Tony Mowbray's men have only played a couple of friendlies to date, but this is where things step up a level for the hosts as they face Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton in the space of a week.
LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Karius; Clyne, Matip, Klavan, Moreno; Milner, Lallana, Woodburn; Ojo, Origi, Solanke
SUBS: Fabinho, Van Dijk, Keita, Gomez, Sturridge, Robertson, Phillips, Jones, Markovic, Camacho, Kelleher
Starting with a look at the visitors, Jurgen Klopp remains without a number of his regulars due to their recent World Cup commitments. With the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino still on holiday, there is another chance for Sheyi Ojo, Divock Origi and Dominic Solanke to impress from the start, while Daniel Sturridge will no doubt feature from the bench.
Starting with a look at the visitors, Jurgen Klopp remains without a number of his regulars due to their recent World Cup commitments. With the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino still on holiday, there is another chance for Sheyi Ojo, Divock Origi and Dominic Solanke to impress from the start, while Daniel Sturridge will no doubt feature from the bench.
Klopp revealed prior to last weekend's friendly against Bury that Danny Ward would start tonight's game. Loris Karius was used for the full 90 minutes at Gigg Lane for that very reason, but things have developed on the transfer front since then and the Wales international appears to be on the brink of a move to Leicester City. Karius, therefore, is used once again.
Club-record purchase Virgil van Dijk is among the subs this evening, so Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan will get a chance to prove themselves in the heart of a defence that also contains Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno. Those two players are among those desperate to impress during pre-season, having missed out last season because of either form or fitness.
James Milner starts in midfield and skippers the side in the prolonged absence of regular captain Jordan Henderson, who will unlikely be back for another couple of weeks. Adam Lallana will be glad to get some minuted under his belt after a hugely frustrating 2017-18 on a personal note, while Ben Woodburn is one of those in the shop window with a loan move looming. Much like in Liverpool's previous three friendlies, Klopp will make wholesale changes at half time.
James Milner starts in midfield and skippers the side in the prolonged absence of regular captain Jordan Henderson, who will unlikely be back for another couple of weeks. Adam Lallana will be glad to get some minuted under his belt after a hugely frustrating 2017-18 on a personal note, while Ben Woodburn is one of those in the shop window with a loan move looming. Much like in Liverpool's previous three friendlies, Klopp will make wholesale changes at half time.
BLACKBURN ROVERS TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Raya; Nyambe, Lenihan, Mulgrew, Williams; Evans, Smallwood; Bennett, Dack, Rothwell; Samuel
SUBS: Leutwiler, Fisher, Downing, Wharton, Bell, Whittingham, Tomlinson, Davenport, Travis, Conway, Nuttall
BLACKBURN ROVERS TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Raya; Nyambe, Lenihan, Mulgrew, Williams; Evans, Smallwood; Bennett, Dack, Rothwell; Samuel
SUBS: Leutwiler, Fisher, Downing, Wharton, Bell, Whittingham, Tomlinson, Davenport, Travis, Conway, Nuttall
Switching attention to the hosts' lineup, Mowbray appears to have gone with a 4-2-3-1 formation that is spearheaded by Dominic Samuel. Danny Graham was fairly prolific up top last season but is currently nursing an injury problem, so Rovers are a little light in that area of the field. Samuel scored eight times in 41 appearances overall last term.
Graham contributed to a combined 22 goals in League One last season, while Bradley Dack was responsible for 26 of them - 18 of his own and eight assists. Unlike Graham, Dack will be involved tonight in the middle of a three-man attacking midfield, with Joe Rothwell and Elliott Bennett either side. It is a step up in quality from what Liverpool have so far come up against.
Goalkeeper Jaysun Leutwiler was expected to return from injury this evening, but he remains absent from the squad, while Ben Gladwin and Paul Caddis are also nowhere to be seen. Not ideal for Mowbray, who is expected to avoid making mass changes at the midway point tonight as things are starting to get a little more serious now. Still, the likes of Peter Whittingham and Craig Conway should still get a 30-minute runout from the bench, you would imagine.
James Milner skippers Liverpool tonight in the prolonged absence of regular captain Jordan Henderson. It is up front where the Reds are at their weakest during pre-season, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane still recovering from their World Cup exploits. This could, therefore, be one of the last chances for Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and Dominic Solanke to impress before that trio - and others - are integrated back into the fold.
Blackburn will be competing in the Championship next season after a year in the third tier. The 1995 Premier League champions are a world away from where they once were, having fallen down the divisions in recent times. Under Mowbray, though, the Blue and Whites look to be on their way back up, potentially using momentum from last season's impressive promotion-winning campaign to guide them back towards the big time.
Blackburn will be competing in the Championship next season after a year in the third tier. The 1995 Premier League champions are a world away from where they once were, having fallen down the divisions in recent times. Under Mowbray, though, the Blue and Whites look to be on their way back up, potentially using momentum from last season's impressive promotion-winning campaign to guide them back towards the big time.
Blackburn will be competing in the Championship next season after a year in the third tier. The 1995 Premier League champions are a world away from where they once were, having fallen down the divisions in recent times. Under Mowbray, though, the Blue and Whites look to be on their way back up, potentially using momentum from last season's impressive promotion-winning campaign to guide them back towards the big time.
Blackburn will be competing in the Championship next season after a year in the third tier. The 1995 Premier League champions are a world away from where they once were, having fallen down the divisions in recent times. Under Mowbray, though, the Blue and Whites look to be on their way back up, potentially using momentum from last season's impressive promotion-winning campaign to guide them back towards the big time.
Rovers finished second to Wigan Athletic in League One and nine points ahead of Shrewsbury Town, who were cruelly defeated by Rotherham United in the playoff final. That ensured all three relegated sides from the season beforehand went straight back up, and all three have their work cut out to avoid a repeat of 2016-17. Blackburn will feel, however, that they are well suited to the second tier this time around.
The East Lancashire outfit won 28 of their 46 league matches last season, losing just six of those, including 15 win on home soil - the best record of any side in the third tier, as Ewood Park became the fortress of old. Rovers have played just a couple of friendlies so far, beating Scottish Premiership side Hibernian 2-0 at Easter Road in Paul Hanlon's testimonial and playing out a 1-1 draw with Port Vale last weekend.
This is the toughest of Blackburn's remaining pre-season matches, although they do also still have Everton to face in a week's time. Games against Lincoln City and Accrington Stanley either side will conclude Rovers' summer programme, which is all in prep for the real thing - their trip to Ipswich Town on August 4, before taking on Millwall and Hull City in the following two matchdays.
Mowbray has added just a couple of players to his ranks thus far, bringing in talented youngster Jacob Davenport from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee and Joe Rothwell - also a midfielder - from Oxford United. Davenport impressed in the Citizens' youth ranks and skippered the club's development side prior to spending a season in the Championship with Burton Albion, where he impressed across his 17 appearances.
Rovers continue to be linked with more players, though, and there is a sense that Mowbray would like to further strengthen between now and the start of the season. Danny Graham and Bradley Dack in particular impressed last season in an attacking sense, contributing to a combined 48 goals and assists in League One, but in the absence of the former tonight they do look a little light. As Blackburn know better than most, the Championship can be a brutal division if you are not properly prepared.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! These two sides have met regularly down the years, most recently in April 2015 when Liverpool won 1-0 here in an FA Cup sixth-round replay; Philippe Coutinho scoring the only goal on the night, 70 minutes in, to set up a semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium - Reds supporters will not need reminding of the result in that one!
Rovers have failed to win any of the last four competitive encounters between the two sides, in fact, and have won just one of the last 12 overall - a 3-1 victory here in the Premier League seven-and-a-half years ago. The result is not the important thing tonight, of course, but victory for the Blue and Whites would give them a serious boost ahead of the new campaign.
Liverpool make the short trip to East Lancashire with all thoughts on their Premier League opener against West Ham United on August 12. Klopp has arranged a number of friendlies - too many, in the eyes of many - with this their fourth runout to date. They have had mixed results so far, as their big win against Chester FC was followed up by a close call against Tranmere Rovers - they held on to win 3-2 - and a goalless draw with Bury last time out.
Plenty of teams have yet to kick a ball this pre-season, including the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, but Liverpool have taken a different course heading into the new season. Looking back at that first game, the 7-0 win over Chester, Klopp criticised his players for a slow start. Harry Wilson, since loaned out to Derby County, netted twice in the opening 45 minutes, before a further five goals were added in the second 45.
Then came the 3-2 win at Tranmere. The Reds led 3-0 early on at Prenton Park, only for a Karius error - yep, another one, albeit with less of a spotlight on him - to gift the lower-league side a route back into the match, leaving Liverpool to hold on. The less said about the goalless draw at Gigg Lane the better, meanwhile - it was a game of few chances, and the hosts arguably had more reason to feel hard done by in the end, as they hit the post and had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside.
Klopp has chopped and changed things across those three matches, ensuring that every outfield player in his squad gets some minuted under their belts. That will remain the case tonight, with this the last of the Reds' home-based friendlies before heading off to the United States for high-profile fixtures against Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Manchester United, the latter of which is expected to be staged in front of 107,000 spectators.
The first of those International Champions Cup games is against Dortmund in North Carolina in just a few days' time, so we can surely expect the Reds to be a little jet-lagged for that one. Klopp's men set off for the States after this match, and it will then be a case of stepping things up from that point on, rather than only giving players 45 minutes each. Klopp will also be pleased to be reunited with Marko Grujic, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the coming days.
Following their tour of the United States, with the three matches crammed into the space of a week, Liverpool return to Merseyside for back-to-back home friendlies against Serie A duo Napoli and Torino. Again, this is all in preparation for their Premier League opener against West Ham United, which is now a little over a few weeks away. It soon comes around!
Fitness, as we know, is key for any Klopp side, explaining the vast number of fixtures pencilled in. The players hard a shorter turnaround than many due to Liverpool's season being stretched into the tail end of May, but many of the fringe players involved over the past fortnight will certainly not be complaining as they have been given a chance to stake a claim. Regardless of all that, there will surely be a number of further loan moves in the next few weeks...
While Salah, Mane and Grujic will all be integrated back into the fold over the next week following their early World Cup exits, Simon Mignolet, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold will have to wait another fortnight or so. In the case of the latter, his lack of game time for semi-finalists England means that he should be ready to face West Ham if Klopp is desperate, but the other two will surely have to wait until a few games in before being thrown into the mix.
Klopp has been pretty busy in the transfer window so far, bringing in Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City in a £13m deal to bolster his attack, while also splashing out £39m on Fabinho and a further £48m on Naby Keita, with the latter of those deals only just officially going through. Throw into the mix the impending arrival of Alisson for a record fee, plus the signing of Virgil van Dijk in January, and Liverpool have spent £250m already this calendar year.
That is a serious sum of money, and it certainly changes the picture for Klopp. Guiding the Reds to successive top-four finishes for the first time in nearly a decade, on top of last term's magical European run, has given him good grace with supporters. Finish this campaign trophyless, though, and fail to offer any serious title fight, and questions may just start to be asked of the German coach.
With kickoff fast approaching at Ewood Park, let us now turn attention to some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Tony Mowbray: "It's a game we're really looking forward to. I was telling the players that it will be a proper Liverpool team. They mixed their team around when they played Chester and Tranmere but I'm pretty sure it will be a real good test for us. I like the players to feel the quality of Premier League footballers so ultimately we're working on a style of how we might play in the Championship but tonight we might have to put our best laid plans on the back burner a bit. When you play against high quality players you feel that on the pitch, their strength, their ability to pick the right pass, and we have to be respectful to make sure we make it a really competitive game for them. Some games last year we were gung-ho, but you can't do that against top teams otherwise you will leave yourselves exposed so tactically it's a good games for us. We'll be out of possession for a lot of the game, their quality will dominate the match but it's whether our shape can give them problems and we can throw a few punches and put them on the back foot for spells and threaten for goals."
Jurgen Klopp: "There are 22 days to go so we are not close but we are in a very good position. I love the pre-season but I really loved the good old pre-season when you had all players together and you can train from the first day, four different systems, stuff like that. In this moment we miss three or four offensive players. Roberto, Mo, Sadio and Shaq. It means an interesting challenge. Hendo's [Jordan Henderson] not in, Trent's not in, Simon is not in and Dejan will be the latest to come back. We are in a good position but we are not even close to how I want to play football. Pre-season is like this. You need to do whatever you do with a high intensity to train your body for a long season. That means you are tired for the next day but that's no problem. When you play the games you think 'That should look different'. You reach different targets step-by-step. Today good in defence, next day good in creating chances, being good at finishing maybe comes the latest because you need to be fresh for that."
KICKOFF! We are up and running at Ewood Park in Liverpool's fourth summer friendly. The Reds were held to a disappointing goalless draw by Bury last time out, so they need to put on more of a show here against a Blackburn Rovers side that should be more advanced in their preparations for the new campaign.
Liverpool have spent pretty much the entire opening three minutes knocking the ball around the field, mainly inside their own half. Samuel is staying high up the field to close down the Reds' two deepest players, but Milner is dropping into defence to help make up the numbers.
Blackburn have seen more of the ball in the past couple of minutes, but their first attacking move broke down on the edge of the opposition box without a shot being fired in. Good, direct play from Samuel in the build-up.
PENALTY SAVED! Dominic Solanke is played through on goal and is taken out by David Raya, who took plenty of the player and none of the ball. Up steps the usually reliable James Milner, who was denied from 12 yards by Raya - that is how you go about making amends!
That was a good penalty save from Raya, although it does have to be factored in that Milner did not get it into the corner of the net. A big chance goes begging for Liverpool, but it is they who are in control of this friendly.
Ben Woodburn fails with his angled attempt. Liverpool have not really clicked into gear so far, creating just the one chance that saw Solanke race through before being brought down, only for Milner to miss from the penalty spot.
Blackburn have arguably been the livelier of the two sides so far in an attacking sense. Rovers again get high up the pitch and win themselves a corner, which on this occasion came to little. Another ball into the box from Bradley Dack is dealt with well.
CLOSE! Adam Lallana gets the ball out of his feet, sending it towards the back-post arena. Dominic Solanke got between two men and got his head to it, but he could not quite direct it on target. Prior to that, play stopped for Smallwood to receive treatment.
The ball falls nicely to Ben Woodburn on the edge of the box, but his shot is rather sliced and hit a Blackburn player inside the box. Liverpool the side on top at the moment but they are struggling to create much, as was the case against Bury last weekend.
Samuel goes down under a challenge from Klavan but nothing is given. This has been a match of limited openings so far, with the only serious opportunity falling the way of Solanke early on. The youngster was brought down and Milner missed the resulting penalty.
Some good play from Lallana to get away from a couple of players before being aprehended. Seen far too little of Liverpool's most advanced players in the opening 32 minutes, and they will only likely have another 13 minutes or so to make an impression.
Liverpool's best passing move of the match so far culminates in Alberto Moreno being slid through, before squaring the ball to Divock Origi to tap into the back of the net. The offside flag was up, though, and replays show that the full-back was a good five yards off!
SAVE! Really good play from Bradley Dack to get away from a couple of players and then get a shot on goal at the end of it. He is better known for his errors than his saves at the moment, but Loris Karius did well to get down low and keep the ball out with his feet.
Blackburn also fired a free kick into the side-netting moments before that Dack shot was saved, so it is fair to say that the Blue and Whites are ending the first half on top. Liverpool have struggled to find any sort of momentum.
A strange one, this, as the ball was played into the box but nobody in red could get a touch to it. Up the other end, Samuel gives chase and puts Klavan under a bit of pressure, helping to relieve some of the pressure on his side.
OFF THE BAR! The ball bounces awkwardly for Divock Origi to hit, and the attempt was not great. The ball was always rising and the striker's only real effort of the half will likely be his last. From the next attempt, Adam Lallana's cute chip hit the crossbar and his follow-up was stopped on the line by Mulgrew.
HALF TIME: BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-0 LIVERPOOL
The half-time whistle sounds and we are all square at Ewood Park. Liverpool's best moments were at the start and end of the half, coming close through a couple of Adam Lallana chances a few moments ago, while James Milner missed from the penalty spot.
James Milner wasted a big chance to put Liverpool in front inside the opening six minutes, as his penalty was well saved by David Raya after the goalkeeper took out Dominic Solanke once played through on goal. Liverpool continued to probe away, with Solanke glancing wide from Adam Lallana's cross and Ben Woodburn slicing a shot into a sea of bodies.
A half-chance also came and went for Divock Origi, who failed to keep his half-volley on target, but Blackburn were also having the odd positive moments in a quiet first half. Star man Bradley Dack, the scorer of 18 goals in League One last term, got past two men but could not beat Loris Karius down low with hit shot.
Having had to ride their luck a little, Liverpool ended the opening 45 minutes the stronger side and should have taken a lead into the break. Lallana's delicate chip came back off the frame of the goal, and when the ball came back into the middle he was denied by Charlie Mulgrew on the line.
BENCH WATCH!
BLACKBURN ROVERS SUBS: Leutwiler, Fisher, Downing, Wharton, Bell, Whittingham, Tomlinson, Davenport, Travis, Conway, Nuttall
LIVERPOOL SUBS: Fabinho, Van Dijk, Keita, Gomez, Sturridge, Robertson, Phillips, Jones, Markovic, Camacho, Kelleher
RESTART! We are back under way at Ewood Park. Jurgen Klopp was always expected to make mass changes at the midway point, and that has proved to be the case - Loris Karius is the only player to retain his place in the side.
Fabinho, Van Dijk, Keita, Gomez, Sturridge, Robertson, Phillips, Jones, Markovic and Camacho are all on for Liverpool, while Blackburn have made a couple of half-time changes of their own - Travis and Bell on in place of Evans and Mulgrew.
SHOT! Daniel Sturridge, one of those to be introduced at the break, gets into the area but can only drag his attempt wide of the target. Keita then slipped the striker through, and this time he fired wide from 10 yards.
Liverpool are the side on top in the opening 11 minutes or so of the second half, and they should probably be in front as Sturridge was given a couple of sights of goal. A reminder that the Reds also drew 0-0 with Bury less than a week ago...
Blackburn have survived some scares in this second half but it remains all square with an hour played. Klopp will not be making any further changes, unless he feels the need to replace Karius, while Mowbray will surely make a handful more.
SUBS! Liverpool do indeed change their keeper, with Caoimhin Kelleher coming on for Loris Karius with a little over an hour played. Blackburn, meanwhile, make another eight alterations following a slow start to the half.
Just to keep you in the loop, those Blackburn changes in full: Raya, Nyambe, Lenihan, Williams, Rothwell, Bennett, Smallwood and Dack all off; Leutwiler, Wharton, Downing, Conway, Tomlinson, Davenport, Whittingham and Nuttall on.
GOAL! BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-1 LIVERPOOL (LAZAR MARKOVIC)
Liverpool's forgotten man, Lazar Markovic, gives them a second-half lead at Ewood Park! Daniel Sturridge played a smart ball through and the Serbian thumped the ball past Leutwiler, who has been on the pitch for just a few minutes.
OFF THE LINE! Camacho so nearly doubles the lead, but his finish lacked power and Travis was back to clear it off the line. The Reds do look as though they have another goal in them, however, with Blackburn now left holding on.
OFF THE LINE! Camacho so nearly doubles the lead, but his finish lacked power and Travis was back to clear it off the line. The Reds do look as though they have another goal in them, however, with Blackburn now left holding on.
GOAL! BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-2 LIVERPOOL (DANIEL STURRIDGE)
That should do it for Liverpool! Daniel Sturridge has looked lively since coming on at the break, and the Englishman has himself another pre-season goal. Keita won the ball high up the field and slipped it through for Sturridge, who needed one touch to control the ball and another to slot it home.
Liverpool have been dominant in this second period, really making their Premier League status tell. Blackburn have lacked any sort of momentum, which was the case for their opponents in the first half, not helped by the flurry of changes.
Klopp will no doubt want to see his side register a couple more goals in the remainder of this friendly. Much like at Chester in their opening match, the Reds have stepped things up after a pretty quiet start to proceedings.
SHOT! Naby Keita has looked very good in his 45-minute cameo, which will delight those Liverpool supporters in attendance. The midfielder, who has an assist to his name, brought the ball forward and shot over the crossbar.
The attendance has just been announced as 14,620 at Ewood Park - a more than decent turnaround for a pre-season friendly. The first half had the odd entertaining moment and the second has been pretty positive - a case of job done for the Reds.
Blackburn desperately trying to pull a goal back now but, truth be told, they have not really looked like scoring since the start of the second half. Mowbray will no doubt take plenty of lessons away from the third of his side's friendlies.
Blackburn really struggling to get out of their own half at the moment. Credit to Liverpool for improving things in the second half, although at the same time the home side have faded. Just a couple of minutes left to play here.
FULL TIME: BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-2 LIVERPOOL
The referee blows for full time, meaning a return to winning ways for Liverpool to conclude the first part of their pre-season campaign. The Reds were pretty poor in the opening 45 minutes, bar a late flurry that saw Adam Lallana hit the post and then have a shot saved off the line, but they stepped things up in the second 45 and were deserving winners through goals from Lazar Markovic and Daniel Sturridge.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Ewood Park. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to join us next week for live updates of the Reds' trip to the United States. See you then!
