Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Suso Knocks On First Team Door

Liverpool starlet Suso showed his first team potential with a brace for the U21s in their entertaining 3-3 draw against West Ham United earlier on Monday.

The Spaniard was a regular for the seniors earlier in the season, but has been less frequently involved under Brendan Rodgers in recent months, and hasn't featured at all since January.

However, the 19-year-old gave the Northern Irishman a glimpse of what he can do in Monday’s clash against the Hammers at the Kirkby Academy.

Indeed, Rodgers was in attendance and watched the young side go a goal behind after just four minutes, with defender Dan Potts heading the visitors ahead.

But, the tied turned on 24 minutes when Raheem Sterling, another player looking to impress after recently falling down the pecking order at Anfield, struck a 25-yard stunner that flew in off the underside of the crossbar.

Not to be outdone, Suso put the Reds ahead six minutes later, beating defenders with a fine sole run before firing past Raphael Spiegel.

The hosts were pulled back again on 56 minutes and it was another corner that did the trick for the Hammers, with Wellington Paulista the beneficiary from another Kieran Bywater set-piece.

Suso appeared to have won it for Liverpool with ten minutes left on the clock, with the forward cutting in from the right-flank and beating Spiegel with a well-placed drive into the bottom corner.

It wasn’t to be though, with Elliot Lee volleying home the equalizer deep into injury-time after another corner caused chaos in the box.

The defending would have been a concern for Rodgers, but the performances of Suso and Sterling would certainly provide cause for optimism.

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