[ANDYSIAO14]

KEANE MAKES LIVERPOOL DEBUT





Rafael Benitez declared himself pretty satisfied with the debut of Robbie Keane after the Republic of Ireland star enjoyed a 45 minute run-out during the goalless draw with La Liga runners-up Villarreal at the El Madrigal Stadium.
The new Kop number seven was paired alongside fellow new signing David Ngog for the first half, and Keane was unfortunate not to make it a scoring debut when he came close with an effort in the first half.

"To see Robbie with the new lads out there was positive," said Benitez. "Robbie worked hard and he wanted to impress. He played his part in some good movements in attack and showed his quality."

The game also saw the return to action of the Spanish heroes Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa and former Villarreal favourite Pepe Reina, who all enjoyed their first outing of pre-season in the second half.

The boss also gave a strong hint that he could pair Keane and Torres for the first time in attack against Rangers in Saturday's friendly at Ibrox.

"I want to see them together before our first game in the Champions League qualifier," said Benitez.

"They will have enough games now to play together before the start of the season and maybe they will have 45 minutes on Saturday.

"Torres will play some games in a row now. He had some chances tonight but he only played for 20 minutes which was the idea in his first game back."

The boss also praised youngsters Ngog and Krisztian Nemeth who joined Keane in making their Reds bow in Spain.

"Ngog doesn't know his team-mates yet but he worked hard and again it was positive for us," said Benitez. "Nemeth deserved his chance and he showed his quality.

"The main idea for us tonight was to improve the fitness level of the team and I think we did that."