Liverpool U21s Suffer Narrow Loss to Monaco
Liverpool U21s suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to Monaco on Wednesday night in the Premier League International Cup at the AXA Training Centre.
The young Reds had two 16-year-olds in the starting lineup and another coming off the bench, with summer signing Amara Nallo joined by first-year scholar Lucas Pitt in defence.
Lucas Michal opened the scoring for Monaco on the cusp of half-time and Enzo Baglieri made it 2-0 soon after the restart, before substitute Jayden Danns pulled one back for Liverpool with eight minutes of normal time to play.
Vitezslav Jaros had already been called upon to make a number of vital saves on his first competitive appearance for the Reds since January 2021, while both Mateusz Musialowski and Lewis Koumas had gone close to reducing the deficit.
Young Reds Fight Hard for Equaliser
After Danns’ effort was blocked and Bobby Clark’s follow-up rebound off the bar, the striker was there for the tap-in, in what was his eighth goal in seven games so far this season.
Liverpool fought hard to level the scores, including another goal from Danns ruled out for offside, while Barry Lewtas sent on a second new signing, 16-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni.
But it wasn’t to be for the young Reds, who saw Pitt sent off for a second yellow in stoppage time for a foul which handed Monaco a penalty.
Positives Despite Defeat
While they kicked off Group C with defeat, there were still positives for Liverpool, not least first outings at U21s level for both Nallo and the in-form Nyoni.
Jaros added the flourish to an excellent individual display by saving Jules Bery’s spot-kick, as Liverpool look ahead to their next match against Crystal Palace in the PL2 on Sunday, October 1.