Unfortunately for Brendan Rodgers it is all about the Champions League for his leading striker and defeat to Celtic will do nothing for the manager's sales pitch about Liverpool's prospects of a return to Europe's elite.
Neil Lennon's team are navigating a way through their own difficult summer towards the Champions League and ended Liverpool's pre-season winning streak with an early goal from new signing Amido Baldé. Celtic were fortunate at times to hold on but it should be noted that this was a Celtic team fielding wholesale changes to the side who progressed through the Champions League qualifiers on Wednesday. This was Rodgers fine-tuning Liverpool in readiness for the start of the Premier League on Saturday.
The opening exchanges at the Aviva Stadium were uncomfortable for Rodgers but paled in comparison to Ian Ayre's experience en route to Dublin. Liverpool's chief executive, along with Michael Owen, bravely travelled to the Irish capital with the great unwashed on a Ryanair flight from John Lennon Airport on the morning of the game and endured a gruelling interrogation from the rows behind. Aside from the question of how tight Liverpool's finances must be to send their chief executive via Ryanair (though he may have had checked-in luggage, to be fair), it was noticeable how many supporters demanded the sale of Suárez as stewards gamely attempted their safety instructions while Ayre waited desperately to put his ear-phones in.
Suárez received a raucous reception at Steven Gerrard's testimonial last Saturday, and gave a half-hearted cameo in response, and again in an open training session at Anfield on Monday. But that was before the Uruguayan approached the press to accuse Liverpool and Rodgers of broken promises in his pursuit of a move to Arsenal, a club in the Champions League play-off, and the mood on board was a far cry from the pro-Suárez feeling against Olympiakos. The opinion voiced was also a stark contrast to the position that principal owner John W Henry had outlined on Thursday.
Liverpool's prized asset was unlikely to face the Scottish champions before suffering a slight foot injury in Gerrard's testimonial owing to the remainder of his 10-match suspension for biting Branislav Ivanovic. Rodgers always intended to use the final friendly of an encouraging pre-season – on the field at least – as preparation for the Premier League opener at home to Stoke City.
Starting with a central defence of Kolo Touré and Andre Wisdom, with the Barcelona target Daniel Agger nursing a knee injury and Martin Skrtel again overlooked, Liverpool looked pedestrian against a makeshift Celtic team. And makeshift was putting it kindly. Neil Lennon achieved his main aim this week by guiding Celtic into the Champions League play-off at the expense of Elfsborg and only two members of Wednesday's starting lineup – Emilio Izaguirre and Mikael Lustig – started in Dublin. They were deservedly in front with only 12 minutes gone courtesy of the summer signing Baldé.
The 6ft 4in Guinea-Bissau-born striker proved a handful for Wisdom and Touré and was offered a route through when Stewart Downing's attempted block careered into his path outside the Liverpool area. Baldé slipped easily away from Wisdom and, though Simon Mignolet got a hand to his powerful low shot, the ball looped up and over the line.
Liverpool had the better chances that followed with Philippe Coutinho central to their few creative moments, as he will have to be in the absence of Suárez, and Downing also prominent as he again seeks to convince Rodgers of his worth amid interest from West Ham and Newcastle. But it was a laboured display until Daniel Sturridge replaced Iago Aspas for the second half and Joe Allen gave way for Jordan Henderson.
Celtic's stand-in keeper Lukasz Zaluska saved at close range from Coutinho and Glen Johnson, parried an angled drive by Downing and also foiled Aspas before the interval. Otherwise, Celtic absorbed pressure comfortably and it required the introduction of Sturridge to spark greater urgency in the Liverpool attack. The England international's availability for this fixture should not be overlooked. Sturridge was at risk of missing the start of the season when he damaged ankle ligaments against the Republic of Ireland in May but worked tirelessly with Liverpool's medical staff throughout the summer to recover.
Touré, Liverpool supporters, the PA announcer at the Aviva Stadium and even Celtic's official Twitter feed thought the Ivory Coast defender had equalised with a header from a Gerrard free-kick. All failed to notice a flag for offside until the goalkeeper Fraser Forster resumed play from inside his six-yard area. Sturridge was denied an early reward when he lobbed Forster from Coutinho's brilliant pass but missed, and when a 25-yard drive brushed the side of the Celtic net.
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