Aquilani makes Reds debut

Aquilani: Liverpool bow

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Alberto Aquilani made his long-awaited Liverpool debut after playing 15 minutes for the reserves on Wednesday.

The £20million summer signing came off the bench as the Reds' second string beat Sunderland reserves 2-0 at Tranmere's Prenton Park.

Goals from Daniel Pacheco and Robbie Threlfall sealed the win but all eyes, including those of co-owner George Gillett, were on the Italian international as he completed his first outing in Liverpool colours.

Aquilani's contributions to the game included a clever backheel, a couple of neat passes and a stunning cross-field ball, before he disappeared down the tunnel with a broad smile on his face and club doctor Mark Waller's arm around his shoulder.

Aquilani, who joined the Reds in August as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, arrived while still recovering from a summer ankle operation and had not kicked a ball in anger for the Reds until seven days ago.

The 25-year-old has been in full training for a week but it remains extremely unlikely that the midfielder could make a surprise first-team debut against Manchester United on Sunday, despite Liverpool losing their last four games.

It is believed that Rafa Benitez has pencilled the former Roma playmaker in for the Reds' Carling Cup fixture against Arsenal next Wednesday.