Liverpool U18s opened the new season with an entertaining 5-3 win over Stoke City in Kirkby.
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was without players like Kaide Gordon and Mateusz Musialowski, key men at this level last season, who appear to be likely to feature for the U23s against Man City on Sunday afternoon, with James Balagizi among those expected to take on more seniority.
And after going behind early on, Liverpool were worthy winners in the end.
The young Reds were behind within two minutes as Stoke’s 15-year-old captain Emre Tezgel slotted in from close range, teed up by a square ball from Matthew Lusakueno.
Oakley Cannonier had the ball shortly afterwards only to be flagged offside, but Liverpool were clearly the side on top.
Midfielder Balagizi, a highly rated creator who missed out on joining the senior pre-season at least in part due to injury, was central to plenty of attacks, and should have let fly on a couple of occasions from the edge of the area, only to be crowded out.
Liverpool captain, Luca Stephenson, played slightly higher up the pitch than last season, impressing as a number eight rather than a number six, a position he made his own in 2020/21.
Oakley Cannonier, likely forever to be known as the ball boy who teed up Trent Alexander-Arnold for his quickly taken corner against Barcelona, looked bright and sharp, darting into the penalty area on the last shoulder of the Stoke backline.
But Liverpool were struggling for a while to break a resolute defence down, with the early goal having given them something to cling to.
Good work from Reds U18s debutant Josh Davidson, though, with around 31 minutes played, led to Stephenson playing Melkamu Frauendorf in, and the German youth international finished well under pressure.
The equaliser was a deserved one on the balance of possession, even if Liverpool hadn’t generated a lot of clear-cut opportunities.
Stefan Bajcetic, signed for around a quarter of a million pounds from Celta Vigo in January, stood strong at the heart of the defence and started a few moves that led to chances for the Reds.
Frauendorf and Cannonier both could have done better with efforts at goal, but Stoke regrouped and got to the interval at 1-1.
The second half saw a similar pattern to the first, minus the early Stoke goal, with Frauendorf a particular threat, and the goals for Liverpool started to flow.
Frauendorf, 17, signed from Hoffenheim amid interest from Bayern Munich last summer, was deployed on the left-hand side to begin with, and looked noticeably stronger and sharper for the start of his second season at the club.
It was his shot that teed up the goal from Balagizi - an excellent finish from just inside the area - which put his side 2-1 ahead.
Last season he was very much a big part of the front four with Gordon, Musialowski and Max Woltman, and Frauendorf appears ready for another step.
Sharp, incisive and decisive in the final third, it was Frauendorf who was the pick of the Liverpool bunch.
By the half-hour mark, it was 3-1 as Davidson was fouled inside the area and the impressive Cannonier coolly converted from 12 yards.
And that was the signal for Liverpool to experiment, as Frauendorf moved into central midfield, where he looked equally at home.
Liverpool scored again and made it 4-1, with brilliant composure setting up Cannonier, who added a second goal to his collection with a perfect finish.
“Standards!” came the shout from the Liverpool bench, and the young Reds didn’t let them slip.
Frauendorf dribbled past two players and set up Lee Jonas, who finished brilliantly off the post from 18 yards to make it 5-1.
Stoke did pull themselves back to a respectable scoreline, with Tezgel scoring one from the penalty spot and he then completed his hat-trick with a cool finish when running clear one-on-one with goalkeeper Harvey Davies.
The Reds, though, held on for a thoroughly deserved win.
Liverpool U18s face Manchester United away from home next, where they could face a familiar face in forward Ethan Ennis, who opted to move to the Red Devil’s this summer.
