Keshi and Klarer find net in Blues' opener

BIRMINGHAM City kicked off their preseason campaign with a 3-1 win over La Liga side Sevilla on Saturday night.

- By ALEX DICKEN

Keshi Anderson and Christoph Klarer put Blues in control at halftime before Chris Davies fielded a completely new XI for the second period.

Nico Guillen pulled one back for an improved Sevilla side after the break but Blues had the last laugh when Marc Leonard scored a stupendous free-kick three minutes from time.

Here are our player verdicts..

FIRST HALF:

RYAN ALLSOP: Ice-cool in possession, as ever, and wasn’t even panicked when Neumann bounced a lofted ball towards him. Allsop comfortably held one low shot and made one superb save from Vargas.

ETHAN LAIRD: Laird’s burst of speed to get on the end of Klarer’s long free-kick to force the corner which led to Blues’ second goal was superb. The right-back was strong in and out of possession.

PHIL NEUMANN: There is a lot to like about Neumann. He looks at ease in possession and pinged passes into his teammates with purpose, whilst also showing the athleticism to stride forward with the ball on occasions.

CHRISTOPH KLARER: Klarer’s position has been tweaked slightly which means he is now in the middle of Blues’ three-man defence when they have the ball. It’s a smart move to ensure he isn't isolated by speedy wingers. Klarer was perfectly positioned to score Blues’ second and should contribute more than the two he managed last season.

ALEX COCHRANE: Cochrane made one strong challenge early on and looked assured throughout. He knows the system so well now that it will be hard for Lee Buchanan or anyone else to dislodge him at left-back.

TOMOKI IWATA: Patrolled in front of Neumann and Klarer to offer a bounce-pass for them. Iwata occasionally got involved going forward too.

PAIK SEUNG-HO: Reasonably tidy in possession and showed for the ball constantly. The one criticism would be that his first-time sweeps to the right from the pivot position didn’t always find their man.