5 Things We’ve Learnt So Far From Pre-Season Friendlies

pre-season friendlies

The new football season is just around the corner. Although the football season is very well under way in the Americas and in Asia, the European football season is coming alive.

This means two things: the holidays are over for the players and preparation for the new season has started in the form of pre-season friendlies, tours and competitions.

From the International Champions Cup to the Premier League Asia trophy, European clubs have been putting themselves to the test in anticipation of the new season.

While they’ve been at it, we’ve been watching. And these are the five things we’ve learnt so far:

Debut goals

When players move from one club to another, fans begin to countdown to the days the players will start scoring goals – especially if the player is a striker and comes at quite the price.

From Rooney to Lacazette to Salah, Lukaku, Cutrone and Calhanoglu, the debutants have not held back from banging in the goals. Being pre-season, some may not regard the goals so much.

But then again, the tally has started counting and maybe – just maybe – it’s a reflection of things to come.

Klopp is king of the press conferences

While Mourinho was busy keeping an eye on the West Ham signings and Guardiola was left speechless by a certain Phil Foden, Klopp was busy having a good time; with journalists and with cooks.

Yes, he made it known that Coutinho is not for sale. But that was not before he compared the market to the days of buying butter and giving some funny English lessons.

Move over Jose, a new press-conference-drama-king is here. Jurgen Klopp is his name!

Goals everywhere

The AC Milan win over Bayern saw four goals. Tottenham beat PSG 4-2. Liverpool defeated Leicester 2-1. Dortmund thrashed AC Milan 1-3 while Chelsea beat Arsenal by 3 goals to nothing.

FC Barcelona takes on Manchester United.
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With no limits to the number of substitutions, maybe this is not a surprise. With debutants and the regulars (Tottenham) taking their chances, it’s been a pre-season littered with goals.

Player comparisons

Most times, the fans have left the action on the pitch and argued between themselves, armed with statistics, which club got the better player. There have been quite a number of them with the Lukaku-Morata comparisons topping the charts.

Which player is better? Which would improve his new club better? Which coach got the best deal? What do you think? Leave us a comment and share your thoughts with us.

What happens during pre-season stays there

Most club managers are probably aware of this. Agreed, it’s a good thing for clubs to win games to boost their morale.

But pre-season friendlies and competition for a league cup or league dominance are two different things. Both the winners and the losers during pre-season know that they have their work cut out for them.

It may be time to make some American Dollars or Chinese Yen but it’s also the perfect time to overlook the results – good or bad – and build towards the new season.

The pre-season friendlies continue though: