The victory helped ensure Liverpool’s 100% pre-season record, with Brendan Rodgers’ squad flying out to Kuala Lumpur for the final leg of their tour of the Far East and Australia.
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Fellow new recruit Danny Ings sealed the victory with Liverpool’s second goal in the 88th minute to cap a strong all-round performance by the Merseyside giants before 53,000 at the Adelaide Oval.
In truth the strike had a hint of offside about it, but the linesman’s flag did not go up and the 29-year-old was allowed to celebrate his second goal Down Under.
Liverpool continue their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Adelaide United this afternoon.
Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic kept out Adam Lallana’s brilliant long-range shot on 58 minutes with a fine save. Milner taps the ball back to Ibe on the right, and the youngster feeds Henderson who forces a good save to his left by Galekovic.
Tarek Elrich, who scored the A-League goal of the season in the last campaign with a brilliant individual effort, created Adelaide’s best chance in the 72nd minute when he did well to win the ball but fired his shot onto the outside of the post. Clyne makes a great run to get to the edge of the box, and he flicks the ball past Malik.
Once Ibe gets his first goal the hope will be that he settles and begins to find the right balance between showing his ingenuity and picking the right moment to release possession.
Should he get on the field against Liverpool, Mells is sure to want to renew acquaintances with his ex-St Mary’s Stadium colleague and show supporters of both teams he’s capable of more than just polishing footwear.
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Having scored 11 Premier League goals last season, the striker is now targeting finding the net regularly for the Reds. His performance in the “City of Churches” was a little more slapdash than it was in Brisbane, but if the summer signing from Charlton starts against the Malaysia XI on Friday, expect him to start in the Potteries.
