Liverpool FC Forum

[Igor Zidane]

Rafael Benitez hailed Lucas Leiva as Liverpool's star of pre-season after the Brazilian scored in Saturday's 2-1 friendly defeat at home to Atletico Madrid.

The Reds midfielder capped another fine display with a late strike in front of the Kop and, although it wasn't enough to earn a share of the spoils, the boss was keen to praise the 22-year-old.

"I said in my pre-match notes that Lucas has been best player in pre-season," he said. "He showed why again today. He is really focused, working hard and is showing quality.

"He knows Aquilani will need time. When we decided to bring in Aquilani we knew he would be out for one month or so, so we analysed the squad and we think that with Mascherano, Lucas, Gerrard and Plessis we have enough."

First-half goals from Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan saw the Reds end pre-season with a home defeat and Benitez admitted it was a tough 90 minutes for his men.

"It was a difficult game," he said. "We conceded one when we were playing with 10 players and Mascherano was at centre back. It was really disappointing and after this we were a little bit nervous. We were playing against a good team and we had our chances but couldn't take them.

"They had spells when they were in control because they have players with quality who can keep the ball and pass it well. It wasn't easy for the young players to play against four offensive players with such quality.

"But we showed a good reaction in the second half and we were pushing - there were positives and negatives.

"The game was important. We wanted to impress our fans but credit to Atletico, they are a good team. We haven't seen all the things we wanted but at least we can analyse the team and start working on things if we need to change something."

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N165351090808-1751.htm

[roberto green]

I would love Lucas to prove me wrong and to become a top class player but I can't see it.

[Igor Zidane]

I would love Lucas to prove me wrong and to become a top class player but I can't see it.

Well rob , he's had a good pre-season so far , all we can do is give him the benefit of the doubt for the start of the new season. He is going to start in centre mid for the next month or so ,so lets see if he can do it . Personally i think he can . He's not the same type of player as Alonso ,so we can't judge him by xabi . He's an attacking midfielder really ,so we've got to see if he can back up gerrard and torres ,create and score some goals .

[heimdall]

I would love Lucas to prove me wrong and to become a top class player but I can't see it.

Well like him or not we'd all better pray that Lucas can contribute well to the team because in many ways the team hinges on how good he is in the first few months.

[Ben Patrick]

I would love Lucas to prove me wrong and to become a top class player but I can't see it.

Well like him or not we'd all better pray that Lucas can contribute well to the team because in many ways the team hinges on how good he is in the first few months.

Yes it certainly does and i am a little concerned about the spurs game as it would have been tough even with Alonso.
But credit to Lucas, pre-season he has looked very good.
Yesterday he played further up the pitch and seemed far more comfortable. There was an occasion in the first half where he dribbled through a couple of players. Thats something we havent seen previously.
The lad looks confident and seems a better player for it.

This might sound a bit daft as some people will say he is under huge pressure with Alonso going and Aquilani not going to be fit for a while yet. But i think it actually might not be as much pressure as people think....he hasnt got anyone to compete with and knows he is likely to be an automatic first choice player for the first month or two of the season. That can give him massive confidence.

I have previously criticised Lucas but will be happy if he can carry his pre-season form into the start of the season.

Took his goal really well yesterday as well.

[akumaface]

I don't think Lucas would ever be able to cut it here TBH. But it would be fair to give him a chance to see if he in fact is more suitable for going forward (just to satisfy the ones that think he has the "potential"). I think once he had a run and can't perform, sell him in Jan. Since we have no choice now that Aquilani will be out for a month. Whether you like Lucas or not, we have to play him if Rafa stick to the current format. I just hope we will not lose any crucial points during the so called trial time because of him. I had always insisted it would be best to loan him out since he would get the experience needed while not jeopardizing our campaign. Probably there are no takers and also Rafa can't admit he made a mistake in buying Lucas at the moment. Anyway, really hope he proves me wrong but to me, pre season form means nothing since the opponents we had was not always on the same competition level. Just disect Lucas's attribute and you will see there are more things he can't do than he can.

[Fauxy]

He's putting in good effort and probably has been our best pre-season player. He seems to be improving his attacking play and has been better on the ball.

But, it is only pre-season.. the premiership is a different thing.

But anyways, its a good sign that Lucas is showing his ability and maybe he will be able to fill in before Aqua man gets back 

[murphy0151]

I would love Lucas to prove me wrong and to become a top class player but I can't see it.

Well like him or not we'd all better pray that Lucas can contribute well to the team because in many ways the team hinges on how good he is in the first few months.

So lets not not get on his case the first missed place pass, hey boys.

Or boo him if hes coming onto the pitch.  Like what happened the last match i went to against Fulham.  Im not being funny like but if u were coming onto the pitch with half your own supporters booing, its not going to help you really is it?

[tubby]

I am so overwhelmed with optimism when I look around this forum.

[Sabre]

It's time for Lucas to show what he has been learning these years, and I consider valiant Rafa's bet on this player. I don't have all the confidence I'd like about this bet, despite I never considered the lad é.

But Murphy is spot on, the lad needs the help of the supporters and fans.

[only me]

When i look at Lucas play i try and find out his potential...and frankly none to be seen ,no clever passes no special speed or strength no dribble...what do you expect the guy to do? really?

Let's take Babel (which personally i don't like) ,clever as a goat but the potential is out there he has speed with the ball decent footwork and dribble ,so you can see some future prospect ,but Lucas? nothing we haven't seen in championship and lower levels.

[roberto green]

I would love Lucas to prove me wrong and to become a top class player but I can't see it.

Well like him or not we'd all better pray that Lucas can contribute well to the team because in many ways the team hinges on how good he is in the first few months.

So lets not not get on his case the first missed place pass, hey boys.

Or boo him if hes coming onto the pitch.  Like what happened the last match i went to against Fulham.  Im not being funny like but if u were coming onto the pitch with half your own supporters booing, its not going to help you really is it?

Yeah good shout.

[Tim LFC]

I'll remain optimistic about Lucas. He's showing signs of upping his game. If he can grab a few goals then that'd be great. I could see him more as a similar player to Yossi then Alonso.

[woof woof !]

Totally off the wall BUT, could Lucas play the Gerrard role in support of Torres ? .

Maybe with little defensive responsibilty and the license to get forward, putting in some short give and goes with Torres and our wide men we might see more of wht the lad has in his locker ?

Meanwhile Gerrard drops back to CM alongside Mash, lets not forget, before Alonso it was Stevie supplying the raking 40yd passes and bursting through from a deep position.

Just a thought, whadya reckon ?

[aCe']

Totally off the wall BUT, could Lucas play the Gerrard role in support of Torres ? .

Maybe with little defensive responsibilty and the license to get forward, putting in some short give and goes with Torres and our wide men we might see more of wht the lad has in his locker ?

Meanwhile Gerrard drops back to CM alongside Mash, lets not forget, before Alonso it was Stevie supplying the raking 40yd passes and bursting through from a deep position.

Just a thought, whadya reckon ?

dont think it would work... Gerrard wouldnt really be scoring half of what he did last season unless given the freedom to roam around which he obviously wont get if played down the middle... Which brings us to Lucas... Not good enough to put it simply... That side would lack goals and the over reliance on Torres to score would definately cost us in terms of points...

If we had someone better than Lucas it might have been a decent shout for a few games but still not a solution over the course of a few months or a season...

Gotta agree with the other part of your post regarding Lucas though... i said it the match thread and i think i mentioned it in this thread aswell.. Lucas' best work always comes when hes given the freedom to move without the ball... hes good at moving into spaces and getting himself in dangerous positions and is also good at arriving in the box and attacking crosses... seems more like a box-to-box midfielder than a holding midfielder to me... doesnt seem to be any good (in all honesty) at bringing the ball out from the back and is too conventional in his style of play to be creating anything from deep... given space though he looks a decent prospect and a much better player... Will be interesting to see how Rafa plays him because from what i've seen of the Lucas-Mascherano partnership so far, it doesnt seem to be any good tbh..