Liverpool completed their three-match US tour with a 100% record as Arne Slot’s side eased to an impressive 3-0 win against Manchester United in Columbia.
In front of a 77,559 crowd – the biggest at a non-US football match – at the Williams-Brice Stadium, Fabio Carvalho put Liverpool ahead after 10 minutes when he took advantage of some slack defending inside the area from Casemiro.
The lead was doubled on 36 minutes when Mohamed Salah’s excellent close control beat United youngster Toby Collyer on the touchline, with the Egypt forward bursting to the byline to set up Curtis Jones with a low cross.
A third came when Konstantinos Tsimikas seized on a loose ball in the 61st minute, scoring after Andre Onana failed to hold Diogo Jota’s instinctive first-time effort.
New manager Slot will know judgement on how he succeeds as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement will not be based around pre-season games, but the former Feyenoord man will be delighted at the outcome of his side’s Stateside trip before their Premier League opener against newly promoted Ipswich on 17 August.
In contrast, a difficult night for United was made even worse by what appeared to be a serious injury to young defender Will Fish, who left the field on a stretcher after coming off worst when he fouled Harvey Blair.
The trip for United ends with them having lost to both Premier League opponents faced after defeat against Arsenal seven days earlier, although they did beat Real Betis in between.
Like Liverpool, they have a number of key men to welcome back into the fold after Euro 2024 and Copa America commitments when they return to training next week.
In phases Liverpool were exceptional and moved the ball around quickly.
They pressed high and fast at the start of the game and committed plenty of men forward, which allowed them to take advantage of United’s unforced errors.
Salah appears to have a spring in his step, Jones was a busy presence in midfield and both Caoimhin Kelleher and his replacement Vitezslav Jaros made excellent saves as required.
With talk of Kelleher potentially leaving Anfield before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, Jaros’ instinctive efforts to repel Ethan Wheatley and Scott McTominay would have been heartening for his manager.
The results on tour, with Liverpool having also beaten Arsenal and Betis, mean Slot can approach the final two weeks of pre-season from a position of strength, which is all he could have hoped for when he was named as Klopp’s successor in May.
“We are very happy with the result. We scored some really nice goals but I don’t think we had enough control over the game because United were threatening us more than a few times,” Slot said.
“It’s a 3-0 win but the score could have been different tonight as well.” (BBC)