Monday, July 23, 2012

Reds Held In Tour Opener

Lucas Leiva made his comeback from injury as Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC in Brendan Rodgers' first game in charge.

The appropriately named Rogers Centre was the venue for the start of the new Liverpool manager's reign, and there were plenty of positives to take from an intriguing encounter in Canada.

Even without several senior members of his squad, Rodgers decided to select a different XI for each half and there were further substitutions as well, including a welcome return for Lucas following eight months out with anterior cruciate ligament damage.

There was little goalmouth action in the first half but the Reds looked eager to impress and Dani Pacheco caught the eye with a lively performance, with Alberto Aquilani also granted an opportunity to shine in midfield.

The game came to life after the interval and it was Toronto who broke the deadlock just before the hour mark when Peter Gulacsi could only parry a shot from Andrew Wiedeman and Quincy Amarikwa slotted home.

The lead lasted little more than ten minutes as Adam Morgan provided the simplest of finishes into an empty net after a brilliant run and shot from the impressive Raheem Sterling.

There were also some good touches from Suso as Liverpool pushed for a winner, but they ultimately had to settle for a draw on the first leg of their North American tour.

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