COLUMBIA (USA) — Manchester United were handed a disappointing 0-3 loss by Liverpool in the team's final pre-season match at the Williams-Brice Stadium.
If Erik ten Hag was hoping to see a performance that revealed his team's readiness for the first competitive game of the season, next weekend's Community Shield against Manchester City, then much of the opening few minutes in South Carolina would have encouraged him.
The Reds were quickest out of the traps in the early moments, pressing Liverpool doggedly inside the opposition half and creating good early shooting opportunities for Amad and Mount.
But it was the Merseysiders who took the lead, when a nice dummy from Fabio Carvalho duped Casemiro inside the United area, enabling the Portuguese to wind up a shot on goal. The subsequent effort was deflected, leaving Andre Onana helpless as it dribbled into the corner of the goal.
Rather than deflate the Reds, however, that bad slice of luck seemed to inspire them. The next 10-15 minutes saw a barrage of United attacks, starting with a delicious chip that Casemiro lifted over the Liverpool defence for Mason Mount to run on to. The southerner's resulting shot was well blocked by the chest of Caomihin Kelleher, but the chances kept on flowing.
But United’s wastefulness was punished once more by Liverpool, with 10 minutes of the half remaining. Excellent skill by Mohamed Salah helped the Egyptian evade Toby Collyer down the Reds' left side, and the Anfield legend speared an astute low ball across United's six-yard box for Curtis Jones to tap home.
The Reds created enough chances to level the game up before the hour mark, with Casemiro, Scott McTominay and Will Fish all going close, but, instead, Liverpool's clinical finishing pushed United even further adrift. When Diogo Jota was found by Conor Bradley's cutback, Onana did well to parry the Portuguese's close-range effort, but the ball ran loose to left-back Tsimikas, who swept the ball home from barely a yard out.
"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. It's a 3-0 win but the score could have been different tonight as well," said new Liverpool head coach Slot to reporters in the post-game interview.
"There were mixed feelings, I would say. I think I have seen positive bits, but the way we concede goals, we are, of course, not happy with it. Of course, Liverpool are a very good side. They are very aggressive, and they have lots of goalscoring abilities, so they did very well. But the way we conceded, we are not happy with it," said United manager Erik Ten Hag.