3 things we learned as Liverpool crush Man Utd in pre-season friendly
- Goals from Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas earned Liverpool 3-0 victory
- Man Utd were wasteful in attack without Rasmus Hojlund
- Both teams have now finished their pre-season tours of the US
The latest edition of a fierce Premier League rivalry turned out to be an easy night's work for Liverpool as they crushed Manchester United 3-0 at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
It's been a positive pre-season for new Reds boss Arne Slot as he maintained his unbeaten run over the summer friendlies, picking up a third win on the trot after successes against Real Betis and Arsenal.
United, on the other hand, remain somewhat all over the place and could do with some of their Euro 2024 stars returning quickly after falling to a third pre-season defeat.
As Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas got on the scoresheet on Saturday night, here are three things we learned from the Liverpool victory.
Liverpool exploit creaking backline
In all truth, Liverpool's starting XI wasn't too far away from a team they might select in an upcoming Premier League fixture. Even without Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Darwin Nunez, the Reds zipped the ball around starting from the back and quickly struck first when Carvalho made space and fired into the bottom corner.
United's defence included veteran Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof and potential departing right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and their lack of cohesion was exploited frequently before Jones doubled Liverpool's lead after great work from Mohamed Salah.
Rhys Bennett and William Fish formed a youthful centre-back partnership in the second half and were a little stronger in defence, though they were powerless to stop Tsimikas tucking in a third.
Man Utd struggle in attack without Hojlund
It was an evening of wastefulness in front of goal for Erik ten Hag and United, who racked up 18 shots to Liverpool's nine but just couldn't find the clinical edge to get themselves back in the game.
Mason Mount, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford all had three shots apiece but couldn't find a way past Caoimhin Kelleher and then Vitezslav Jaros. Jadon Sancho played 73 minutes up front as his comeback continues, creating two chances without looking like the answer to Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee's current absences, while Amad Diallo was full of threat on the opposite flank.
The Red Devils will hope summer signing Zirkzee can hit the ground running when the Premier League kicks off, because otherwise they could be quite toothless in attack with no one to finish off quality chances.
Two Premier League giants jet home after contrasting US tours
Liverpool and United's pre-season fun in the United States has come to an end and Dutchmen Slot and Ten Hag have plenty to mull over as the start of the campaign rapidly approaches.
It was the Red Devils' third summer friendly defeat after previous losses to Rosenborg and Arsenal, while defender Leny Yoro and striker Hojlund have suffered injuries that will rule them out for spells at the start of the season. There is a chance to begin the term with more silverware in the Community Shield next week against Manchester City, but a vast improvement is needed and quickly.
Contrastingly, Liverpool can feel pretty good about their early work under Slot. He remains undefeated over the summer and, even if his side did give away a few too many chances to a wasteful United team, can approach the new campaign with confidence.
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