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Liverpool U21s kicked off their season with a strong 3-1 victory over Man City, with coach Barry Lewtas missing at least 12 players due to expected transfers.
Liverpool U21s 3-1 Man City U21s
Premier League 2, AXA Training Centre
August 17, 2024
Goals: Corness 24′, Hill 49′, Norris 70′; Wright 43′
Liverpool had fixtures across all age groups on Saturday as the first team visited Ipswich, the U21s hosted Man City and the U18s travelled to Derby.
For Lewtas’ U21s, that came with a number of key players absent ahead of possible moves away from the club.
Goalkeepers Marcelo Pitaluga and Jakub Ojrzynski, defenders Rhys Williams, Owen Beck and Calum Scanlon, midfielders Bobby Clark, Stefan Bajcetic, Tyler Morton and James McConnell and forwards Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon and Harvey Blair were all absent.
Of those 12, only Bajcetic and Morton trained with the senior squad in the buildup to the 2-0 win at Ipswich, but they are also likely to leave on temporary and permanent deals respectively this summer.
Lewtas was also without James Balagizi and Oakley Cannonier, though it remains to be seen whether either player will leave, while Trey Nyoni travelled to Portman Road with the first team.
Despite those absences, the U21s produced an excellent performance on their way to a 3-1 win over Man City.
With the transfer window still open it was an experienced side that lined up at the AXA Training Centre, with 21-year-olds Dominic Corness, Tom Hill and James Norris getting the goals.
There were still six teenagers in the starting lineup, though, including 17-year-olds Amara Nallo and Kieran Morrison, while defender Lee Jonas, 20, made his first appearance after nine-and-a-half months out due to injury.
Hill had already gone close twice in the opening stages as Man City attempted to play out from the back, before Corness opened the scoring from Norris’ assist.
The visitors equalised before the break through Jacob Wright, but Hill regained the lead four minutes into the second half with a brilliant piece of trickery that ended with a strike into the roof of the net.
Corness, who spent last season on loan with Yverdon-Sport in Switzerland, then laid on the third for Norris with a trademark whipped corner.
It was a productive start for the U21s, even though the headline remains those absent – with the majority expected to play in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Sunday, likely along with Sepp van den Berg and Nat Phillips.
Clark, however, is closing on a £10 million move to Red Bull Salzburg, where he will reunite with former Liverpool coaches Pepijn Lijnders and Vitor Matos.
Meanwhile, the U21s’ fortunes were not shared by the U18s, who ran out 5-1 losers away to Derby with 16-year-old Josh Sonni-Lambie scoring their goal.
Liverpool U21s: Davies; Jonas (Miles 65′), Nallo, Lucky, Norris; Laffey, Corness (K.Kelly 83′), Pilling; Morrison, Hill, Young (Pinnington 83′)
Subs not used: Misciur, Figueroa
Next match: PSV Eindhoven (H) – PL International Cup – Wednesday, August 21, 7pm (GMT)
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