From dominating the Premier League champions to capitulating to a heavy defeat - Matt Scrafton's verdict on Blackpool's friendly against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool

For 45 minutes, pre-season friendly or not, the Seasiders were in dreamland, revelling at the prospect of another famous Anfield victory – this time as a third-tier club against the reigning Premier League champions.

With a surprise 2-1 lead at half-time, photographs of the famous Kop end scoreboard began to do the rounds on social media as Blackpool fans couldn’t help but recall those two famous Premier League victories in 2010/11.

Forty-five minutes later and *bang* the Seasiders were given a sizeable wake-up call, although the end result didn’t tell the whole story.

Neil Critchley, returning to Anfield for the first time since leaving in March to take his head coach role on the Fylde coast, named his strongest side for this encounter, Pool’s sixth and final friendly of the summer.

Those that were selected didn’t let him down, either, delivering a monumental effort in the first-half where they made a strong Liverpool side look, well, fairly average.

And yes, while this was a weakened Liverpool XI of sorts due to their European players being unavailable because of international duty, don’t let Phil Thompson fool you into thinking this was a ‘reserve’ side.

With Alisson in goal, Joel Matip in defence, Fabinho, Naby Keita and the impressive Takumi Minamino in midfield and the ‘fab three’ of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino in attack, this was verging on full-strength.

Whether they were truly ‘up’ for this game or not, they had no answer to Blackpool’s pressing, their direct counter-attacks and their speed and dynamism in the final third. Critchley, the apprentice, was beating the master Jurgen Klopp at his own game.

James Milner, the wily old fox, couldn’t keep up with the rapid pace of CJ Hamilton. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, he’s not the first to suffer such a fate and he certainly won’t be the last.

Jerry Yates, who has drawn comparisons to club legend Brett Ormerod, harried and chased every lost cause in attack.

Ethan Robson was sublime in the midfield of the park, breaking up play and spraying passes across the hallowed Anfield turf.

Chris Maxwell was confident and decisive in the Blackpool goal while Michael Nottingham thwarted Mane and Firmino with some superbly-timed headers and blocks.

This wasn’t a minnow getting lucky, as we sometimes see in cup ties, where they take an early lead – normally via a set-piece – and then sitting on it.

This was a team with a defined gameplan and structure, where every player knew their role and carried it out to a tee. That bodes well for the league campaign ahead.

When Blackpool took the lead after just 15 minutes, it didn’t come as much of a surprise as they had dominated the early exchanges and had already wasted a couple of good openings.

The commentators working for LFC TV admitted as much themselves, remarking on how Critchley’s men were the better side and were deserving of their breakthrough.

The goal came from the boot of the mercurial Hamilton, who has been one of Blackpool’s standout stars of pre-season.

The summer recruit from Mansfield Town closed down the young and inexperienced Billy Koumetio on the halfway line before racing through on goal and emphatically beating Alisson at his near post.

Hamilton was again involved for Blackpool’s second, the rapid winger nipping the ball past Alisson on the edge of the penalty area before being clattered by the Brazilian international.

After a moment of confusion, the referee eventually awarded a penalty which was dispatched with aplomb by Yates.

With 32 minutes on the clock, Blackpool were two goals to the good against the side that won the World Club Cup in December 2019.

The Seasiders deserved to take their two-goal lead into the break but it wasn’t to be as Matip powered home a header from a Milner cross on the stroke of half-time. As good as Blackpool have been in pre-season, their defending from set pieces has left a lot to be desired.

The pivotal moment in the game actually came at half-time, when Critchley – thinking ahead to Tuesday night’s EFL Trophy game against Barrow and next week’s league opener at Plymouth Argyle – decided to make four changes.

Maxwell, Robson, Hamilton and Sullay Kaikai, four of Pool’s most influential performers in the first half, were brought off. On came three debutants in MJ Williams, Dan Kemp and Bez Lubala while Jack Sims, still only aged 21, replaced Maxwell in goal.

Blackpool subsequently lost their shape and Liverpool began to pick them apart at ease. The game was stretched and not in a good way either, as the only result was the home side banging on the door over and over again.

With two goals in two minutes, Mane and Firmino the two to net, the home side completed the turnaround with the second half just nine minutes old.

On the hour-mark, Critchley made another raft of changes and what followed can only be described as a capitulation, as Klopp’s men ran in another four unanswered goals.

Trying to make sense of this friendly is no easy task. This wasn’t just your typical game of two halves, it almost felt like two completely separate games altogether. The team and performance from the first half was in complete contrast to what we saw in the second.

Not much can be taken from the second period other than Blackpool’s backup players can’t cope with some of the best players in the world, which shouldn’t exactly come as earth-shattering news.

The end result was a shame and it did threaten to get a bit embarrassing, as Liverpool threatened to run riot and expose some admittedly inexcusable defending.

But take absolutely nothing away from what we witnessed in the first half, in fact, shall we just forget about the second half entirely?