'Class it as an assist! I'm just happy to get the win'
Owen Beck will happily claim an assist after his cross forced the own goal that earned Liverpool a 1-0 win over FSV Mainz 05 on Friday.
The left-back was part of the second-half Reds XI for the pre-season friendly in Austria and his firm delivery from the flank proved the deciding moment on 86 minutes.
Liverpool 1-0 Mainz: Watch extended highlights
Luca Kilian could only turn the ball beyond his own goalkeeper and into the Mainz net, giving Jürgen Klopp’s side victory from a hard-fought contest in humid conditions.
Asked post-match if it almost felt like scoring himself, Beck told Liverpoolfc.com: “Yeah, thank you.
“I saw the ball came down the line and I only had one thing in my mind really, which was to cross. Happy to get the win – maybe class it as an assist!”
Several thousand supporters were permitted to attend the contest in Grodig, in which the manager once again used two different XIs in each half.
“There hasn’t been many fans in recently because of COVID, so it was nice to have a few fans back in and singing all game. It was a good experience,” said Beck.
“We had quite a few young lads playing, but the likes of Nat Phillips and Div led the team, to be fair.”
Beck is one of a number of Academy talents included in Klopp’s squad for the training camp, which is now almost a fortnight old.
The group has been further bolstered by the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Andy Robertson in recent days – and Beck is naturally eager to begin work alongside the latter on the training pitches.
“I can’t wait for him to start training and I can take a few things out of his game and put them into mine,” added the 18-year-old.
“And even with Kostas now, I’m learning a lot from Kostas.”
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