Liverpool continue pre-season preparations with Wigan win

Ben Woodward, who was impressive against Fleetwood on Thursday, scored Liverpool’s second 15 minutes before full-time.

In today’s day and age that, of course, could lead to huge pressure for a player clearly as talented as Woodburn, but with their pre-season tour of America just around the corner, Klopp was keen to shield him from the spotlight.

Goals from half-time substitutes Danny Ings and Ben Woodburn gave Liverpool a thoroughly-deserved 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic at the DW. “We created chances in both halves”. The second half was more than OK because the young boys obviously didn’t think too much about exhausted legs and the intensity of training.

The teenager looked far from out of place at the DW Stadium and made a couple of swashbuckling runs in the second-half before capping it off with the goal for 2-0, a sublime finish after running onto a through ball from another youngster in Ryan Kent.

“The young boys obviously didn’t think too much about exhausted legs and the intensity of training”.

“That was really flexible, it was quick and direct”.

Ings scored his second goal of pre-season, admittedly a scrappy one, but his hold-up play and through-balls were nearly invariably weighted to perfection.

Ings also drew praise from Wigan defender Stephen Warnock, who made 63 appearances for Liverpool during his spell at Anfield.

The 23-year-old scored his second goal of pre-season in the win at Wigan but Klopp warned against expecting too much of the former Burnley striker.

“I really like these stories”, said Klopp, as he was asked about the rise to prominence of Woodburn in recent days.

“It’s a squad, and the pressure is in the squad”.

“You have enough time, they are young enough. We are going in the right direction”.