Liverpool's under-19s were held to a goalless draw by Villarreal in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday afternoon, despite dominating the second half at the Academy in Kirkby. The Reds wasted several chances and had strong penalty appeals turned down as they failed to capitalise on their superiority.
Dominant display but no breakthrough
Finn Inglethorpe and substitute Erik Farkas had Liverpool's best chances, with the latter denied by a superb close-range save from Villarreal goalkeeper Pablo Polo. The home side finished with 26 shots on goal but only four were on target.
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, now head coach of Villarreal's youth team, watched from the touchline as his side held on. Villarreal had won their previous two matches in the competition at Borussia Dortmund and at home to Napoli, and their U19s reached the quarter-finals last season.
"We are so disappointed not to have won the game," said Liverpool U19s boss Rob Page. "We have created enough chances to win three games of football, let alone one. But at this level it's about developing your ruthlessness. Our decision-making at times needs to improve, the message was winning as a team and not as individuals. But the minute we aren't creating chances is when I'd be worried."
Changes spark improvement
As in the previous match at LASK, Liverpool improved after half-time following a change of shape. Oliver O'Connor switched from left wing to right-sided defence, while AJ Yeguo was introduced for right-back Lenix Conde. The Reds began to push Villarreal back, with 15-year-old Luca Eden impressing again.
"Our full-backs had a lot of the ball in the first half and I wanted someone like Oli on the ball who is more of a winger, and with his athleticism to get forward as I knew we could get the ball wide," said Page. "We brought AJ on and he made a difference. Him and Erik (Farkas), the last two European games they came on and had an impact on the game. It would be nice if they could give us that from the beginning, but that's part of their development that they need to not just be an impact player from the bench. Can they now do that for 90 minutes for us at this level?"
Pressing game key for Page
Page emphasised the importance of a strong pressing game, mirroring the approach of first-team manager Andoni Iraola. The U19s operated with two strikers in Will Wright and Inglethorpe, a system Page believes suits the team.
"We started the game with a diamond as we had Finn and Will as two centre-forwards," said Page. "We are a better team when we play two up top, we have a more aggressive press and we play higher up the pitch. The way the gaffer (Andoni Iraola) and the first team play, we want to mirror that press as much as we can, and in transition when we have the ball we have more options and talented players behind the front two."
Liverpool remain unbeaten in the competition after an opening 2-2 draw at home to Atletico Madrid and a 4-2 win at LASK. They continue their campaign on Wednesday, November 4 at Fenerbahce in Istanbul, with kick-off at 11am.
