FeatureArm speed challenge, a Gomez goal, 3v3 tournament and more spotted in Liverpool training
We were embedded with the Liverpool squad throughout Friday as they stepped up work towards Sunday's blockbuster with Manchester United.
Arne Slot's Reds regrouped following the October international window and set their sights on another Anfield encounter against their fierce rivals.
Here are five things we spotted on and off the pitch at the AXA Training Centre amid the matchday-minus-two exertions...
Freddie’s new hairdo…?
Andy Robertson was dishing out a bit of stick to Freddie Woodman inside the gym.
“That barnet is interesting,” the vice-captain said - tongue in cheek - of the summer goalkeeping arrival’s slicked-back hairstyle.
And that teaser got Woodman thinking.
“I might grow it out and do an Ali [Alisson Becker]!” suggested the No.28.
One to keep an eye on…
The arm speed challenge
The latest leaderboard to pop up inside the AXA Training Centre showed the title ‘arm speed challenge’.
And there were plenty of eager participants in the pursuit while we were filming on Friday for what seemed a largely straightforward concept: pull back a rope as quickly as you can manage.
At that point in time, centre-back Ibrahima Konate had bagged himself top spot ahead of Joe Gomez and Curtis Jones.
We confess to not being sure what the measurement exactly is, but Konate’s leading figures of 2,118 for his left and 2,225 for his right clearly can’t be sniffed at.
A 40-pass rondo…
Inside Training veteran viewers will be well used to seeing rondos as part of Reds sessions over the years.
The numbers achieved in those fast-paced drills don’t often reach the heights of 40 completed passes, though.
But our cameras captured one such epic effort on Friday.
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Watch on YouTubeA goal for Gomez…
Liverpool’s No.2 has, famously, yet to score a competitive goal during his professional career.
Now in his 11th season at the club, perhaps this could be the year that we witness the name Gomez on the scoresheet.
And he certainly showed it’s not for a lack of skill with a low finish off his left foot during this latest training session.
That came after Gomez had also been foiled by an excellent save and a goalline clearance by Hugo Ekitike.
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And the winners are…
Gomez’s strike came amid a fiercely competitive tournament that featured rolling short matches contested by small teams.
Groups of three, plus a goalkeeper, tussled out for supremacy as part of an overall team - reds against whites.
The quest to win only grew more intense as the target of 18 points neared, yet there was a comical conclusion as an own goal settled matters in the reds’ favour.