'I'm very happy' - Kostas Tsimikas reflects on first Liverpool game
Kostas Tsimikas was delighted to get a first Liverpool appearance under his belt as the opening game of pre-season ended in a 3-0 win over VfB Stuttgart.
The Greece left-back enjoyed a 45-minute outing in the second half of Saturday’s friendly, in which Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Rhian Brewster netted for the Reds.
Watch: Liverpool 3-0 Stuttgart in 90 seconds
It provided an initial taste of match action with his new club for Tsimikas, who has been training with the squad since their camp in Austria began last Saturday.
“I feel very good, I’m very happy I did my debut,” he told Liverpoolfc.com post-match. “Now I want to work more and to play more often in the league games. I want to be ready for everything.”
Tsimikas continued: “The friendly games are difficult. First of all we have to be fit, that’s why I tried to run a lot first of all; to show a good image and play hard. And the result is the most important [thing], even in the friendly games and the competitive games.”
In challenging conditions as rain soaked the players and the pitch against Stuttgart, Jürgen Klopp’s men showed the fruits of a week’s worth of intense sessions at their base on the outskirts of Salzburg.
Neatly-taken efforts from Firmino and Keita put them in command at the break and, after the manager changed his entire XI for the second half, Brewster provided a third goal.
“It was a good performance, we did what we do all these days in training,” reflected Tsimikas. “What the coach wants, we did on the pitch. We won.
“We’ll keep this and we want to be ready for the [Community Shield] final on the 29th.”
Tsimikas has found the workouts suitably demanding and the camaraderie suitably welcoming throughout his first few days as a Liverpool player.
And the 24-year-old is eagerly anticipating the competitive fixtures that are coming in the near future, with the Community Shield against Arsenal next Saturday and the Premier League kick-off on September 12.
“The sessions have been really hard. But I have to try a lot to work hard and be ready,” he said.
“Every player made me a warm welcome. They helped me a lot to do my best on the pitch, to give everything. And all together we hope for the best.
“I want to start [the season], I’m looking forward to the new season. I hope we will do and achieve our goals.”
Watch highlights from the 3-0 win over Stuttgart and exclusive content from the Reds' Austria training camp on LFCTV GO.
Use code 2021GOFREE to start a one-month free trial of LFCTV GO now. This can be cancelled at any time.