Thiago Alcantara believes Liverpool must improve on "everything" ahead of their Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City despite thrashing AC Milan 4-1 in their final Dubai Super Cup outing.
The Reds partook in friendlies against Lyon and Milan as part of their preparation for the resumption of domestic football in England. Jurgen Klopp's return to competitive action at the Etihad next Thursday.
And, after tasting defeat against the Ligue 1 Lyon on Sunday, goals from Mohamed Salah, Thiago and a brace from Darwin Nunez saw Jurgen Klopp's men run out 4-1 winners against the Serie A champions on Friday.
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However, Thiago insists he and his team-mates can function at a much higher level than they showed during their outing against the Rossoneri.
“Everything," responded the Spaniard when asked what Liverpool can improve on. “As a football player, as a Liverpool player and a Liverpool fan, I think we have to improve everything.
“We have to achieve all trophies possible. We have to start to chase for first position again, we know it’s tough, but there’s other competitions as well, so we’re trying to chase everything.”
The former Bayern Munich man was full of praise for Reds youngsters Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak and Bobby Clark, with the latter providing a sensational assist for Nunez to grab his first of two goals.
“Fortunately, the academy is doing great, we have not just young talented players, but also intelligent players here,” Thiago said. “They get very quickly how we train, how we play, how we press. I think we have great talents coming through and they will 100 per cent do great in the future.
“It’s great to have them here because they learn things from the guys, they also put their skills on the pitch, but also, we love to train and play with the young kids because we can see how they can progress and how they’re doing as well.”
Despite being introduced to the action with just seven minutes remaining, Doak impressed with an eye-catching display as he struck the post before teeing up Nunez for his second goal of the game.
With captain Jordan Henderson expected to return to training on Monday when the Reds reconvene at the AXA Training Centre, just four days before their visit to City, there is a strong possibility that Bajcetic and Clark could find themselves in the mix against Pep Guardiola's side. While Doak could be named on the bench for the second successive round as he continues his encouraging development during his first season on Merseyside.
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