Liverpool's U19s kicked off their UEFA Youth League campaign with a 2-1 win at Napoli on Wednesday.
After Gennaro Iccarino had levelled out Ben Doak's opener from the penalty spot, it was left to Oakley Cannonier to win it for Barry Lewtas' young Reds.
The ECHO was at the Giuseppe Piccolo Arena to provide analysis from the game as a new-look front three emerged in Naples.
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BEN DOAK
If Jurgen Klopp is having to rework his forward line at Liverpool this season, then the same can be said of Barry Lewtas in the UEFA Youth League.
With new signings Ben Doak and Trent Kone-Doherty flanking Oakley Cannonier down the middle, after the striker made the step up to U21 level, there are adjustments to be made up top at this level too.
Firstly, the game's outstanding performer Doak. The former Celtic fledgling was a constant threat down the Reds' right as he continued to torment the hosts backline with his dribbling ability both on the outside and inside. Everything the teenager did was done in the kind of measured and precise nature that you would expect of a player who has already made his debut for a senior side.
Celtic were believed to be devastated to lose Doak when he moved to Merseyside and it's easy to understand why. After starting life at the Academy in impressive style, he merely continued to build on things here in the baking Neapolitan heat.
One particular shift and cross was begging to be tapped in before it brought a hearty "Ben, well done kid!" from Lewtas on the sidelines. But if the Liverpool U21 boss - or U19 in this particular competition - was pleased with that, he will have been delighted later in the half when Doak gave his side the lead.
After escaping the attention of Napoli's left side, Doak dribbled his way into the box as a terrified defence stood off before he rifled it home. Another piece of skill saw him wriggle free of some attention near the half-way line before his threaded pass was just about cut out.
Doak may still be just 16 but the very early signs are that Liverpool have a blistering talent on their hands here.
TRENT KONE-DOHERTY
Another teen drafted in from further afield this summer is Trent Kone-Doherty, who arrived earlier this year from Irish side Derry City.
A player whose physical development is not quite at the level of Doak's, but his pacey, dribbling style is one that has already had a few off their seats at the Academy base in Kirkby.
Starting on the left of the front three here, the young Irishman had a great chance early on when the ball was shifted to him inside the box but his effort was saved by the foot of the Napoli goalkeeper Claudio Turi.
A superb run later in the half left his marker for dead too as Liverpool continued to pile on the pressure in an impressive first period that gave the hosts no time in possession or let-up out of it.
Like Doak on the opposite flank, Kone-Doherty was a constant thorn in the Napoli side with his willingness to run at the home team’s defence and some recognition from the pitch-side supporters as he was replaced by Ranel Young late on showed that even some of the locals appreciated his efforts.
"I was really impressed with both Trent and Ben," manager Barry Lewtas told the ECHO after the game. "I thought they carried the ball well and obviously Ben got his goal. I was really pleased with the pair of them and I was kind of worried that they would maybe blow up a bit towards the end but they didn't to be fair to them."
OAKLEY CANNONIER
Oakley Cannonier spent over an hour toiling on the fringes of this game to little avail. But as Ben Doak beat his man inside the box before drilling in a low cross, Cannonier's poaching instincts came alive. A close-range finish made it 2-1, and with it, Liverpool's UEFA Youth League campaign was up and running with a hard-fought victory that was full of character. Such is a striker's lot.
Many might expect the goals to continue coming at a similar rate of knots to last season's haul of 33, but having stepped up an age group this term, the pressure and demands for that sort of return should probably be tempered just now.
Cannonier is a dyed-in-the-wool No.9 who thrives off the service and makes the most of the chances that present themselves - as evidenced by his winning goal here - but there are still plenty of rough edges to smooth. The movement is intelligent and typical of an out-and-out striker but the all-round approach play will be one of the things Lewtas and his team will look to work on this term.
One early opportunity came to nothing as Cannonier slipped but a nice exchange with Kone-Doherty to get the left winger in on goal was slick and precise.
Beyond the goal, it was a quiet day up top for the Leeds-born forward as he tried to get to grips with the physical defending of Napoli's backline, in particular the boy mountain that is Daniel Susko. But when the big moment came, Cannonier was not found wanting.
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