Slovakian side MŠK Žilina U19 defeated Liverpool U19 by two goals to one, thanks to goals from Fabian Bzdyl and František Kóša.
Liverpool U19 shocked the home side with an early goal by Kieran Morrison. The Slovak side defended in a 5-3-2 system, with the back 5 handling the talented Liverpool front 3 composed of Italian-type right winger Morrison, the energetic Trent Kone-Doherty and Will Wright, all capable of playing in the English Championship. A positive change at half-time saw them inviting Liverpool’s centre-back Amara Nallo drive the ball and the right wing back Marco Bortoli pressing higher up the pitch.
The Slovak side tried to find their wing-backs who found space out wide, as Liverpool‘s 4-1-4-1 saw their midfielders man-marked Žilina‘s midfielders and Liverpool wingers pressed Žilina’s outside centre-backs. The home team managed to play some slick football in the process, but it was the counter-attack that caught Liverpool out. The first goal began with Baleja picking up the loose ball, right wing-back Bortoli firing the cross in and the clearance finding Bzdyl at the top of the 18-yard box and left of the Liverpool defensive structure to score. The second goal was more straightforward: Gučik and Kóša both offered to receive in between the lines in the counter-attack, with Gučik feeding Kóša, who wrongfooted Liverpool’s Nallo with his first touch, strode past the Liverpool defence and calmly slotted the ball past the keeper.
The player who stood out:
Amara Nallo (Liverpool), centre-back born 2006
It was easy to see why Amara Nallo had been involved with the first team – strong, composed, positioned, blocked shots and won his 4 aerial duels for the night. However, there were significant weaknesses that saw him concede 2 red cards in consecutive first-team games. His legs could have been stronger in supporting his strong upper body, as he struggled to push off one leg to tackle and struggled with clearances, with a botched left-footed clearance leading to the first goal. He had trouble orienting his body correctly when running back and matching the run of the opposition striker as he struggled with balls over the top and was beaten by Kóša’s first touch for the second goal. In possession at left centre-back, he hesitated after taking the first touch and facing inward. Žilina took advantage of his lack of passing accuracy after driving the ball forward. He also made big first touches, one of which led to his unfortunate injury.
A big future for a Rolls-Royce of a centre-back with significant weaknesses. Further development with the U21 / 1st team or a potential loan to a Championship / Bundesliga side at a different stage of development would be needed.
You can check our offers here and reach out to us via our ‘Contact us’ page for fixed or flexible packages. If you like it please SUBSCRIBE to the blog and you will receive all future articles and news.
