Benitez praises Pool pre-season progress

RAFAEL BENITEZ expressed delight at the progress shown by his team in the build-up to their upcoming campaign as they celebrated their first pre-season victory with a 5-0 demolition of Singapore at the National Stadium last night.

The Reds took the lead with the final kick before half-time when Andriy Voronin’s long-range effort found the net.

But the Premier League side were much improved after the break as a brace by young Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth and a goal each by Albert Riera by Fernando Torres sealed an emphatic win.

“Normally during the pre-season, you can see the team getting fitter each week. In this case, we have been in Asia for one week and it was really good,” said Benitez.

Meanwhile Celtic’s second-string side warmed up for this week’s Champions League qualifier by defeating Tottenham in the Wembley Cup.

Victory, courtesy of goals by Chris Killen and Georgios Samaras, means Tony Mowbray’s men won the friendly tournament ahead of Wednesday’s clash against Dinamo Moscow and they have still not conceded a goal in four pre-season matches.

Earlier Lionel Messi was handed a second-half cameo as Barcelona claimed a 4-1 win over Egypt’s Al Ahly to end their Wembley Cup on a winning note.

Bojan Krcic, Jose Manuel Rueda, Jeffren Suarez and Pedrito grabbed the Catalan team’s goals while Hany El-Agazy scored Al Ahly’s consolation.