The preparations for the start of the new season continued on Friday, with Liverpool, Newcastle United and Norwich City all taking part in warm-up games.
We’ve got all the goal, assist and line-up information in the article below plus brief Fantasy Premier League (FPL) flavoured notes on each clash.
Brentford and Crystal Palace were also in action but sent B-sides out to their respective matches, so we’ve omitted mention of those fixtures here.
Don’t forget to check out our comprehensive pre-season page for more information on the warm-up matches taking place ahead of Gameweek 1.
MAINZ 0-1 LIVERPOOL
- Goal: own-goal
- Assist: Owen Beck
Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Joe Gomez (£5.0m) were once again absent as Liverpool sneaked a late win over Mainz thanks to an own-goal assisted by young full-back Owen Beck.
The two recuperating centre-halves have returned to training but didn’t feature in Liverpool’s first 90-minute friendly of the summer and look unlikely to be involved against Hertha Berlin next Thursday.
Speaking after the match, Jurgen Klopp said:
Yeah, it would still be a surprise [if they recovered for Hertha], unfortunately. But they look really good. Look, I think, they do everything, they play football, we keep them in training, we do the things we can do, they don’t do too much and stuff like this. We just have to be patient – we prepare for a full season, not for a pre-season game. I will not risk it for a game here, so we have to see. We have a lot of games still coming, pre-season games, but I don’t see them being involved for the next one.
Ibrahima Konate (£5.5m) and Joel Matip (£5.0m) were instead paired at centre-half as the bulk of Liverpool’s first-team got a 45-minute outing in Austria before making way for a more youthful XI.
The duo now looks likely to start in Gameweek 1, according to the Athletic’s James Pearce.
Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Sadio Mane (£12.0m) – who almost combined to break the deadlock after 32 minutes – once again flanked an ‘out of position’ Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£6.0m) in the front three, although there was a first sighting of pre-season of Diogo Jota (£7.5m), who was an unused substitute.
Roberto Firmino (£9.0m) has yet to return to training after representing Brazil in the Copa America and subsequently being handed a three-week break by his club.
Oxlade-Chamberlain failed to make much of an impression up top, wasting the Reds’ best chance shortly before half-time after seeing a shot tipped wide when clean through on goal.
Liverpool XI: Kelleher (Adrian 46), Alexander-Arnold (N Williams 46), Konate (Phillips 46), Matip (Koumetio 46), Tsimikas (Beck 46), Elliot (Clarkson 46), Milner (Gordon 46), Keita (Morton 46), Salah (Jones 46), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Origi 46), Mane (Minamino 46).
DONCASTER ROVERS 2-3 NEWCASTLE UNITED
- Goals: Ryan Fraser (£5.5m), Sean Longstaff (£4.5m), Callum Wilson (£7.5m)
- Assists: Jamal Lewis (£4.5m) x2, Ryan Fraser
The old FPL double-act of Callum Wilson (£7.5m) and Ryan Fraser (£5.5m) reacquainted themselves as Newcastle United edged out Doncaster Rovers in a five-goal clash at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Wilson raced onto a Fraser pass to round off the scoring for the visitors, having minutes earlier been teed up by his former Bournemouth sparring partner for a blocked effort.
Injury deprived the pair of too much shared pitch-time in 2020/21, while the Scot’s ill-fated final year with the Cherries ended in an acrimonious parting of ways.
Fraser has to first nail down a place in Steve Bruce’s 3-5-2 set-up before he seriously re-enters the Fantasy radar – a tall order given the winger-less system.
But deployed at Doncaster on the left of the central three in midfield, he was at the heart of Newcastle’s attacking play.
As well as his assist for Wilson’s strike, Fraser curled home a beautiful opener and should have bagged a brace when spooning over from close range in the second half.
Injury and illness once again meant that Newcastle were without four goalkeepers, with rookie Dan Langley not covering himself in glory with Doncaster’s two efforts
Altogether more impressive were Jacob Murphy (£5.0m) and Jamal Lewis (£4.5m) down the flanks, with the latter laying down the guantlet to Matt Ritchie (£5.0m) with two assists.
Newcastle United XI: Langley, Murphy (Allan 81), Dummett (Clark 70), Lascelles (Watts 81), Hayden (Fernandez 58), Lewis (Bondswell 85), Hendrick, S. Longstaff, Fraser (Young 76), Saint-Maximin (Gayle 66), Wilson (M. Longstaff 66).
NORWICH CITY 2-0 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
- Goals: Teemu Pukki (£6.0m), Adam Idah (£5.0m)
- Assists: Lukas Rupp (£4.5m)
Teemu Pukki (£6.0m) and Tim Krul (£4.5m) made their first appearances of pre-season as Norwich City won another training-ground friendly in East Anglia.
Pukki – whose FPL ownership is less than a third of that of Ivan Toney‘s (£6.5m) – was the spearhead of Daniel Farke’s usual 4-2-3-1 and raced onto a Lukas Rupp (£4.5m) pass to chip the Canaries into an early lead.
There was another 90-minute showing for budget defender Andrew Omobamidele (£4.0m), although Farke had previously signalled that regular centre-half duo Grant Hanley (£4.5m) and Ben Gibson (£4.5m) would soon return to training.
New signing Pierre Lees-Melou (£5.0m) was stationed in the double pivot after scoring on his debut in ‘the hole‘ but still got forward to register the hosts’ first effort of the game and was part of a move that saw number 10 Kieran Dowell (£5.5m) fire over.
Farke said of Lees-Melou after full-time:
I watched it live and I enjoyed the performance as well. He has shown from the first day his experience, quality and calmness on the ball. He’s also competitive and when it’s time to set a sign he can do this as well.
In possession, he played slightly deeper in midfield today and although he hasn’t fulfilled this that often in his career, he fulfilled all my expectations today and he’s already an important, integral member of our squad so we’re all pleased that we have him.
Todd Cantwell (£5.5m) was lively again down the left flank, while substitute Adam Idah (£5.0m) – Pukki’s back-up this season – added a second goal shortly before full-time.
Norwich City XI: Krul (McGovern 46), Mumba (Aarons 65), Zimmermann, Omobamidele, Płacheta, Rupp, Lees-Melou, Rashica (Idah 46), Dowell, Cantwell (Hernández 46), Pukki (Hugill 46).
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