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.
Perfect US trip for new boss Slot
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Image caption: Liverpool won all their games during their pre-season tour of the US
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.”
United pay for wasted chances
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Image caption: The friendly between Liverpool and Manchester United at Williams-Brice Stadium was played in front of a sellout crowd of 77,559 fans
At half-time United must have wondered how they were behind.
They carried a genuine goal threat as Mason Mount took up intelligent positions in the number 10 role, Amad Diallo and Marcus Rashford attacked from wide areas and 20-year-old Collyer burst into the box when his workload allowed.
The problem was that Erik ten Hag’s side were found wanting at crucial times in both penalty areas.
Casemiro and Collyer were culpable for the Liverpool goals, while United’s attacking players took it in turns to waste clear chances. Diallo flicked a close-range header wide from Mount’s cross and the Ivorian also blazed over when presented with a chance to shoot by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, whose time at Old Trafford appears to be coming to an end as West Ham try to tie up a deal.
Kelleher twice denied Mount before tipping a mishit Rashford effort over.
The wasted opportunities continued to pile up after the break, although the momentum started to ebb from their game as the substitutions came.
Ten Hag may have a new contract, but United will need to do more than this to convince anyone that last season’s eighth-place finish was the aberration it was claimed to be.
And they have Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday.
“There were mixed feelings,” Ten Hag said. “I have seen positive bits, but the way we concede goals, we are, of course, not happy with it.”