Football
Glenn Price, Liverpool correspondent 7y

Liverpool coping with conditions in Hong Kong - Simon Mignolet

HONG KONG -- Simon Mignolet says Liverpool are still training "hard" despite preparations for the new season being disrupted by the extreme Hong Kong weather.

Liverpool are in Hong Kong for the Premier League Asia Trophy, but have been forced to train indoors on multiple occasions as the torrential rain over the past week has left surfaces unfit for use.

Despite the disruption, Jurgen Klopp's side still managed to convincingly beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Wednesday.

"I know the conditions are very difficult for us with the rain and the pitches and all that sort of stuff, but we dealt with it as best as we could," Mignolet told reporters.

"Believe me, we still trained hard. We had running sessions, so we got worked very good. The goalies, we had a session separate, so John [Achterberg, Liverpool's goalkeeper coach] worked us really hard.

"Everybody going into this game was sort of fatigued, but we dealt really well with the warm weather conditions tonight -- it was humid and the boys sweat a lot. It's a really good training session actually.

"We use the humidity and the warmth and adapt our bodies to it and get stronger. It can only help us when we go back to England where there's a lot more air to breathe, so we'll be better prepared for that when we go back.

"It's still early, so we are still trying to prepare ourselves physically to get back into shape."

In each of Liverpool's three preseason fixtures so far this summer, Klopp has swapped all of his outfield players for the second half.

Mignolet believes the manager's ability to make wholesale changes show Liverpool now have the options throughout the squad to compete in several competitions.

"It shows the strength in depth we have," he added. "I think these days in a Premier League season you need every player, therefore everybody needs to be prepared the best way, so you have to get minutes under your belt.

"The gaffer gave everybody 45 minutes [against Palace] to make sure they had a workout.

"We trained this morning, tomorrow we will have two sessions again.

"We'll work hard to ensure every individual is prepared and is in the best shape they can possibly be before the season starts."

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