Takumi Minamino has had an encouraging pre-season for Liverpool this summer.
The Reds acquired the Japanese forward from RB Salzburg in 2019, but Minamino’s underwhelming performances saw him getting loaned out to Southampton.
Minamino impressed in his loan spell at St Mary’s Stadium, which meant that Jürgen Klopp wanted to give him another chance before making the final decision on his fate.
And it looks like Minamino has taken the chance with both hands after he impressed his manager again – scoring with a tidy volleyed finish against Bologna in the latest friendly.
Liverpool met Bologna in Evian for a doubleheader of hour-long friendlies ahead of the upcoming season. While the Reds won the first match of the two by a 3-0 margin, Minamino did not feature.
The Japanese forward started the second match of two and made an early impression as he got on the end of a brilliant ball from Xherdan Shaqiri to send Liverpool into the lead.
The Swiss forward opted for an excellent left-footed delivery into the Bologna penalty area, and Minamino showed impressive movement and nailed the timing of his run to get on the end of it.
Once he had reached the ball, it was fairly easy work for Minamino as he volleyed the ball past the goalkeeper with certainty and ease.
The finish looked almost casual, but any volley at any level of the match is never as easy as it looks – and Minamino followed the trajectory of the ball well enough to guide it into the net with a gentle swipe of his right boot.
Liverpool went on to win the match 1-0, and Minamino’s winner added to his rising stocks in this pre-season – having already scored against Hertha Berlin, and registering another good performance against Bologna to impress his manager ahead of the coming season.
