Liverpool completed their tour of the USA with a resounding 3-0 win over arch rivals Manchester United in South Carolina.
It may not mean much in the long run, but a crowd of almost 78,000 saw Arne Slot deliver an early blow against compatriot Erik ten Hag. Here’s how we rated the players.
Defence
Caoimhin Kelleher: 9 Man of the Match – Excellent early save to deny Mason Mount with his feet and then another on the same player when put through minutes later.
Did well to tip a deflected Marcus Rashford effort over as well. Well worth the £25m asking-price on this evidence.
Conor Bradley: 6 – Couldn’t get going as an attacking threat, typified by a horribly overhit cross from a deep position. Struggled a little to contain Rashford, but still battled hard.
Ibrahima Konate: 6 – An early poor pass put Liverpool in trouble and forced Kelleher into a good save, another not long after allowed Rashford a shot on goal. Was flawless from then on.
Jarell Quansah: 7 – Clearly much sharper than his centre-back partner, Quansah was typically cool on the ball and alert to any threat from United.
Kostas Tsimikas: 8 – Liverpool’s main attacking threat early on and showed quality on the ball throughout. Has really taken his opportunity with Andy Robertson injured and deserved his goal, even if it was a little scrappy.
MidfieldCurtis Jones: 6 – Seemed to be on the ball a lot but rarely did enough with it. Has license to take a few more touches in the new system and gave it away poorly a couple of times as a consequence. Bundled home the second goal for an extra point.
Harvey Elliott: 7 – Didn’t see much of the ball early on but always looked to make something happen when he had it. Grew into the game and opened up the picture for Liverpool with some clever forward passes.
Ryan Gravenberch: 8 – The game passed him by a little at first, but got better and showed some nice passes, composure on the ball and some tenacity in the tackle as part of the two-man midfield. Pleasant surprise to see him bank 65 minutes.
Attack
Mohamed Salah: 8 – Looked a threat against the young left-back and made that count with an excellent piece of skill to beat his man and fizz the ball across goal for Jones to poke home.
Diogo Jota: 6 – Another who initially couldn’t get into things but did better as the match progressed. Showed how he can be so effective dropping deep and building play.
Fabio Carvalho: 7 – Was so bright right from the start, underlined by a nice little shimmy and finish to put Casemiro on the floor and Liverpool into the lead. Looks reborn on the left wing but did fade a little.
