Liverpool completed their three-game tour of the United States with a 100% record, with Arne Slot’s team achieving an impressive 3-0 victory over Manchester United in Colombia.
In front of 77,559 people – the biggest crowd outside the US at the William-Brice Stadium – Fabio Carvalho put Liverpool ahead in the 10th minute when he took advantage of a break in Casemiro’s defense inside the box.
The lead was doubled in the 36th minute when Mohamed Salah’s excellent control beat United youngster Toby Collyer on the touchline, with the Egyptian striker advancing to the byline to feed Curtis Jones with a low cross.
The third came when Konstantinos Tsimikas pounced on a loose ball in the 61st minute, scoring after André Onana had failed to keep out Diogo Jota’s instinctive first-time effort.
New Liverpool manager Slot will know how successful he will be as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement will not be based on pre-season games, but the former Feyenoord player will be delighted with the outcome of his team’s trip to the United States ahead of their Premier League debut against the newly promoted side. Ipswich in a fortnight.
In contrast, a difficult night for United was made worse by what appeared to be a serious injury to young defender Will Fish, who left the field on a stretcher after leaving the worse for wear by fouling Harvey Blair.
United’s trip ends with defeat to the two Premier League opponents they faced following their defeat to Arsenal seven days earlier, although they beat Real Betis in between.
Like Liverpool, they have a number of key men to welcome back from Euro 2024 and Copa América commitments when they return to training next week.
Perfect US trip for new Liverpool Slot boss
In phases, Liverpool were exceptional and moved the ball quickly.
They pressed high and fast early in the game and put a lot of men forward, which allowed them to capitalize on United’s unforced errors.
Salah appears to have agility, Jones was an active presence in midfield and both Caoimhin Kelleher and his replacement Vitezslav Jaros made excellent saves as required.
With rumors that Kelleher could leave 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 encouraging to his manager.
The results on tour, with Liverpool also beating Arsenal and Real 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 appointed 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 threatened us more than a few times,” said Slot.
“It was a 3-0 victory, but the result could have been different tonight as well.”
United will have to pay for wasted chances
At half-time United must have wondered how behind they were.
They posed a genuine goalscoring threat as Mason Mount moved into clever 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 at crucial moments in both areas, Ten Hag’s team were found wanting.
Casemiro and Collyer were to blame for Liverpool’s goals, while United’s attacking players took turns wasting clear chances. Diallo headed wide from Mount’s cross and the Ivorian also fired when he had the chance to shoot past Aaron Wan-Bissaka – whose time at Old Trafford appears to be coming to an end as West Ham try to seal a deal.
Kelleher denied Mount twice before turning away Rashford’s miscued effort.
The missed opportunities continued to pile up after the break, although the game’s momentum began to wane as substitutions emerged.
Ten Hag may have a new contract, but United will need to do more than that 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 next weekend.
“There were mixed feelings,” Ten Hag said later. “I think I have seen positive aspects, but the way we conceded goals we are, of course, not happy with that.”