Italian ace boosts Reds

John McMahon claims the debut of Alberto Aquilani has given everyone at the club a major boost.

The Italian international came off the bench to play the last 15 minutes of the reserves 2-0 win over Sunderland at Prenton Park and he looked sharp and showed glimpses of his undoubted talent.
 
"It was a great boost to see Alberto make his first appearance for the club," McMahon told Liverpoolfc.tv.
 
"You can see the lad has quality in abundance and it was a great boost for the young lads to have him with us. It's fantastic news for everyone concerned and we are really pleased with him.
 
"It was always the idea to play him for 15 minutes at the end. Alberto was chomping at the bit to get on earlier but it was always our plan to give him 15 minutes."
 
A brilliant trademark free-kick from Dani Pacheco and a header from Robbie Threlfall ensured the second string won their fifth successive game.
 
It was another encouraging display from McMahon's team against last season's Champions.
 
"It was a good result but more important for us was it was a good performance which is what we are always looking for," he added.
 
"It's nice to see how hard the players are working. Sunderland are a good strong side who compete well and play good football. This was a good game for us and we are pleased."
 
Reflecting on another fantastic goal from Pacheco, McMahon joked: "It was another mis-hit free-kick from Dani! He loves taking them so I'll have to take them off him soon."