Liverpool U21s Draw 1-1 With Benfica U21s, Kaide Gordon Returns

Liverpool U21s drew 1-1 against Benfica U21s on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League International Cup (2) at the AXA Training Centre. James McConnell equalized for the Reds after Filipe Cruz had opened the scoring for the visitors.

The game was watched by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and his assistant Pep Lijnders, who were both likely to have been impressed by the performances of some of their first-team prospects. Jarell Quansah and James McConnell, who were both on the bench for the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Saturday, started the game, as did Calum Scanlon who played 45 minutes.

Kaide Gordon also made the bench for this one, having played just 16 minutes in the last 19 months. The young right-winger has repeatedly been hampered by injuries since scoring for the first team in early 2022, but will hope to have put a recent ankle problem behind him.

First Half

There was no time to ease into the game on Sunday afternoon, with a couple of biting early tackles from Benfica setting the tone. Liverpool certainly had the best of the possession before the break, but the visitors arguably created the better chances.

After 27 minutes, Benfica had a good penalty claim turned down but it was soon forgotten when, from at least 30 yards out, Filipe Cruz curled a stunning effort beyond Vitezslav Jaros, that nestled beautifully into the net. A blow for Liverpool but there was no denying the excellence of the finish.

The lead didn’t last long, though, as McConnell nodded in from Mateusz Musialowski‘s outswinging corner just five minutes later.

The tension came to a climax shortly before half time when, waiting for a throw-in to be taken, Pedro Santos went down with a loud yelp while stood in front of Quansah. Gilson Tavares reacted and proceeded to shove Quansah and was booked for laughing loudly after the referee deemed the Liverpool’s defender to have accidentally stood on Santos’ foot.

Second Half

For the second half, Quansah and Luke Chambers were both withdrawn, possibly with Thursday’s Europa League fixture vs. Toulouse in mind, and in their place came Scanlon and Lee Jonas.

With 25 minutes left, Barry Lewtas turned to Gordon for inspiration as 17-year-old Trent Kone-Doherty made way. The young winger from Derry is a bright prospect but struggled to get anything out of his Benfica marker on the day.

By the end of the second half, both teams were cancelling each other out. McConnell came off for Tommy Pilling and Liverpool were largely being controlled by Benfica.

Tackles continued to fly in and Gordon became embroiled in a tussle with the Benfica left-back, resulting in a melee before an injury-time Liverpool free-kick on the right.

Unfortunately, it was headed away by the first man and Liverpool had to settle for a point – probably a fair result given Benfica missed from six yards out in the dying moments.

Manager’s Substitutions Hint at Europa League Squad

The substitutions made by Lewtas during this game could be seen as an indication of which players Klopp may select for Thursday’s Europa League match against Toulouse. Quansah and Chambers were both withdrawn at half time, possibly with Thursday’s fixture in mind. Gordon was also brought on late in the second half, suggesting he could be in contention for a place in the squad.

Klopp will be hoping that Gordon can stay fit and continue to impress as he looks to bolster his attacking options. The young winger has shown glimpses of his potential when given an opportunity and could be a valuable asset for Liverpool as they look to progress in Europe this season.