Liverpool vs. Olympiakos: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction
By on August 3, 2013
Michael Dodge/Getty Images
Liverpool cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Olympiakos in Steven Gerrard's testimonial on Saturday afternoon.
The win continues what has been a very positive preseason from the Reds. They got their business done very quickly, and the fringe and younger players look ready to fight for spots next season.
With this being a testimonial, some of the past stars came out to celebrate the storied career of Gerrard. One of those stars was the recently-retired Jamie Carragher.
Liverpool were firmly on the front foot to start the match and stayed there for the rest of the 90 minutes.
They started very well, with Iago Aspas and Joe Allen in particular regularly getting forward in attacking positions. Aspas was playing the target man role superbly, holding up the ball and creating chances for his teammates.
After squandering a golden opportunity to score in the 23rd minute, just seconds later Allen got the first goal of the match. Aspas sent in a nice low cross across the box and Allen was there with a tap-in.
Liverpool tweeted out a picture of the celebration.
Gerrard and Allen celebrate the opener: #gerrardtestimonial pic.twitter.com/wuVsRnzapY
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 3, 2013
Much of the first half involved Allen getting forward but failing to finish off good chances. The Liverpool Echo had a nice comparison.
Joe Allen has displayed positional sense of a striker but the finishing skills of a defensive midfielder this half http://t.co/DbaAT8ZQaU
— Liverpool Echo (@LivEchoLFC) August 3, 2013
As a midfielder, you don't expect Allen to have the best touch in front of goal, so it was actually encouraging how well he was moving around the pitch. He seemed liberated by having Lucas sitting deep and then Gerrard playing in a more central role as well.
Gerrard tried his best to get himself a testimonial goal in the first half, but he was limited to long-range efforts only. The 33-year-old did a very good job of spraying passes across the pitch from midfield but, sadly for him, there would be no magic of 2005 here.
Some of the focus was inevitably going to be on Luis Suarez whose future is very much up in the air. The Daily Mail's Dominic King thought the supporters were trying to do everything they could to make the Uruguayan stay when he was subbed on in the 62nd minute.
Suarez has just come on and got an exceptional reception: this is Anfield's emphatic way of telling him "Don't go".
— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) August 3, 2013
However, the Daily Telegraph's Paul Hayward wondered why the fans would cheer Suarez, given he could force the club's hand to sell him very soon.
I can't see why Liverpool fans would be so kind to Suarez at Anfield today. He could end up suing the club to force a transfer.
— Paul Hayward (@_PaulHayward) August 3, 2013
In the 63rd minute, Jordan Henderson put Liverpool up 2-0 with virtually his first touch of the ball after coming on as a sub. Henderson got himself on the end of a perfectly-weighted pass from Raheem Sterling and then chipped the keeper. It was a nice bit of finishing from Henderson and Sterling deserved his assist for his good, all-round play up until then.
Gerrard again got in on the goal celebration, via Liverpool's official Twitter account.
Superb photograph. Henderson and Gerrard embrace after second goal: #gerrardtestimonial pic.twitter.com/x9agWHDDQS
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 3, 2013
In the 73rd minute, Robbie Fowler stepped back on to the pitch in a Liverpool shirt. No matter how old Fowler gets, supporters will always get a rush when he dons that famous red shirt. As the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce pointed out, it's been a long time since supporters have seen that.
Six years after his last appearance for the club, Robbie Fowler returns to a huge ovation. 17mins to go at Anfield.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) August 3, 2013
The match ended 2-0 and those who had filled Anfield may feel a little let down by the result itself. Gerrard wasn't able to get his goal and the Reds should have probably won by a much larger margin. Still, a win's a win and the club will be able to build on this.
Plus, the match itself was a very good celebration of Gerrard's sterling Liverpool career. No matter what the scoreline could have been, this was always going to be an enjoyable day for players and supporters alike.
Key Player Grades
Iago Aspas: A-
Scott Barbour/Getty Images
Iago Aspas was massive in this match, doing everything you could have expected of him. He was running at the defence and holding up play when necessary.
Liverpool are unlikely to have bought Aspas with the idea in mind that he'd score 20-25 goals a season. Instead, he can be more of a secondary striker and help out Luis Suarez or Daniel Sturridge. Aspas looked exactly like that kind of player on Saturday.
Joe Allen: B+
Michael Dodge/Getty Images
Joe Allen was one of the bigger disappointments from last season. He came from Swansea on a fairly big fee with a lot of expectations, but failed to make much of an impact.
With a healthy Lucas on the pitch, Allen should be able to play much more forward, which would suit him very well. Allen looked great on Saturday, even if his finishing was a bit off.
Steven Gerrard: A+
Michael Dodge/Getty Images
This one is mostly a sentimental grade. Gerrard had a good game, but it never really mattered how well he did on the pitch. This testimonial was all about celebrating his career and everything he has done for Liverpool.
Gerrard will unquestionably be remembered as one of the best players in the club's history and many will probably put him ahead of Kenny Dalglish. Either way, this was a great day for every supporter of Liverpool and undoubtedly brought up a lot of great memories.
Liverpool Team Grades
| Player | Grade |
| Simon Mignolet (off '84) | C+ |
| Jose Enrique | B |
| Kolo Toure (off '62) | B- |
| Daniel Agger | B |
| Glen Johnson | C+ |
| Lucas | B |
| Joe Allen (off '62) | B+ |
| Steven Gerrard (off '84) | A+ |
| Coutinho (off '73) | B+ |
| Raheem Sterling (off '73) | A- |
| Iago Aspas (off '62) | A- |
| Substitutes | |
| Luis Suarez | C+ |
| Jordan Henderson | B |
| Jamie Carragher | C+ |
| Luis Alberto | C+ |
| Robbie Fowler | C+ |
| Brad Jones | INC |
| Jay Spearing | INC |
Olympiakos Team Grades
| Player | Grade |
| Balasz Megyeri | B- |
| Giannis Maniatis (off '75) | C+ |
| Ljubomir Fejsa | C |
| Kostas Mitroglou (off '58) | C |
| Andreas Samaris (off '46) | C |
| Jose Holebas | B- |
| Carl Medjani (off '58) | C |
| Dimitris Siovas (off '75) | C |
| Joel Campbell (off '75) | C+ |
| Leandro Salino (off '46) | C |
| Alejandro Dominguez (off '58) | C |
| Substitutes | |
| Vladimír Weiss | B- |
| Anastasios Papazoglou | C+ |
| Javier Saviola | C+ |
| Paulo Machado | C |
| Avraam Papadopulos | C |
| Dimitris Diamantakos | C+ |
| Charalambos Lykogiannis | C+ |
What's Next
Liverpool have two more friendlies before they start their Premier League campaign. The Reds take on Norwegian club Valerenga on August 7 and then Celtic on August 10. On August 17, Liverpool take on Stoke City in their first EPL match.
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