Klopp’s five Wembley positives

Liverpool warmed up for the start of the Premier League season by beating Barcelona 4-0 in the International Champions Cup on Saturday and manager Jurgen Klopp will have taken a number of positives from his side’s electric display at Wembley.

The Reds brushed aside the La Liga champions with consummate ease in front of 89,845 fans at the home of football thanks to strikes from Sadio Mane, a Javier Mascherano own goal and substitutes Divock Origi and Marko Grujic.

However, while Klopp may have warned against reading too much into his team selection against Barca ahead of Liverpool’s trip to take on Arsenal in their Premier League opener at the Emirates next weekend, their vibrant performance on a sun-drenched afternoon will certainly have given the German plenty to ponder heading of that Super Sunday clash.

So exactly what has Klopp learned from the victory against Barca and what were the main plus points for the Reds boss before his return trip to the capital?

Clean sheet

Liverpool’s defence has been a concern since Rafa Benitez left Anfield six years ago, with the Reds shipping a whopping 50 goals in the league last time around.

Klopp opted to field recent new signing Ragnar Klavan alongside Dejan Lovren at Wembley and the pair looked assured together at the heart of their backline.

Liverpool, who let both Kolo Toure and Martin Skrtel leave the club this summer, also have experienced centre-back Joel Matip – whose arrival on Merseyside has so far been disrupted by injury – to call upon if needed next season.

However, if they can shut out the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, then that bodes well for the upcoming campaign.

Magical Mane

Klopp forked out an …

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