On what must’ve been a hugely satisfactory night for Arne Slot, Liverpool began their pre-season tour of USA with a 1-0 win over Real Betis as the new head coach gave ample game-time to the majority of his squad.
All of the starting XI had been called ashore by the 64th minute, at which point no fewer than eight Reds substitutes were brought on. Among them was Luca Stephenson, who’s yet to feature competitively for the club and spent last season on loan at Barrow.
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The 20-year-old went to right-back after Conor Bradley’s withdrawal and would’ve been quietly pleased with how he performed against Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
As noted by Paul Gorst for the Liverpool Echo, the youngster linked up well with Ben Doak along the flank and ‘was largely untroubled from a defensive standpoint’, also making one vital late interception to help preserve his team’s victory and clean sheet.
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As per Sofascore, Stephenson ended the night with two interceptions, one successful tackle and one clearance, and he only lost possession once from 20 touches of the ball. He came off at full-time having also won 100% of his duels and completed all 13 passes that he attempted.
Once Trent Alexander-Arnold returns from his post-Euro 2024 holidays, the 20-year-old will be bumped further down the pecking order; and the likelihood is that he’ll be loaned out again for the forthcoming season, perhaps this time to League One after playing in the division below with Barrow last term.
However, Slot made it clear from his spate of substitutions against Betis that he’s intent on giving the entire squad a decent runout, which means the ex-Sunderland academy prospect also stands to feature against Arsenal and Manchester United over the coming week.
If he can back up his strong performance in Pittsburgh with equally competent displays against two of our Premier League rivals, the head coach will surely be delighted with what the youngster has shown and bear that in mind for future inclusion further down the line!
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