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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Keifer MacDonald

'By the way' - Pep Lijnders reveals Liverpool 'dream goal'

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has revealed his 'dream goal' to watch is a full-back to full-back finish in a back four.

Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold have twice completed the feat for Liverpool and the pair have contributed 96 goals and assists between them in all competitions since the start of the 2017/2018 season.

Alexander-Arnold also recorded the most assists (13) in a single Premier League campaign when the Reds ended their thirty-year wait for a title in 2020.

Speaking in his Euro 2020 column in The Athletic, Lijnders revealed full-backs combining to score goals delights him.

He said: "Full-back to full-back goals are a new surprise set-up in football version 2021 — we saw a few in the group stages. The question is can you do it with a back four like we have at Liverpool? That’s my dream goal by the way.

"It means so much more than the goal itself. It means that the team is playing with complete determination."

As Germany hit Portugal for four during the group stage of Euro 2020, Lijnders drew comparisons between Robin Gosens and Joshua Kimmich for the way they combined for the fourth goal that was scored for Joachim Löw's side.

"A Germany with aggression or a Germany without is two worlds apart. The Germany we saw that night (against Portugal) made them look like a contender to win these Euros. It was a proper transformation, injecting new intensity.

"They changed tactics without changing the system. In the opening minutes, it was like a tornado rushing over Portugal, who couldn’t make six passes.

"Bad positioning after losing possession meant that Germany could attack over the full width with Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens the standout players as a result."

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