Losing to Manchester United is never welcome no matter what the scenario for Liverpool.
But there shouldn’t be too much fretting despite what at first glance appears an embarrassment at the hands of their bitter North West rivals.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were thumped 4-0 by United in front of a raucous crowd at the Rajamangala National Stadium here in Bangkok on Tuesday night.
MATCH RECAP: Look back on our updates of how Liverpool defeat to United unfolded
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It at one point threatened to easily become more, so undercooked were Liverpool by comparison.
Context, though, is everything. And Klopp will surely have told his players to keep in mind this pre-season, as ever, is much more about building fitness and tactical understanding than claiming major scalps against top opposition.
That’s not quite the case for United, of course. And the respective starting line-ups underlined new United boss Erik den Tag was desperate to issue an early statement of intent by fielding a surprisingly strong side. Klopp instead opted for three experimental outfield teams, giving each a half-hour run-out.
Whether the loss lingers beyond this evening remains to be seen. But it’s unlikely to have much influence – on Liverpool at any rate – when the teams meet at Old Trafford in the Premier League next month.
Could such an alarming scoreline damage morale? It’s always a danger, hardly the result Liverpool’s strong Thai following – which far outnumbered that of the United contingent here – would have been expecting.
There were, though, a number of positives on which Klopp will surely look to build, most notably during a lively attacking performance from the team that played the first 30 minutes.
Luis Diaz struck a post and was a threat whenever running into any hint of space, and Roberto Firmino was his usual busy self when dropping deeper to link play.
But most encouraging were the performances of a couple of 19-year-old forward-minded players Liverpool are confident can play a key part in their next iteration under Klopp.
Harvey Elliott – now elevated to a squad number that matches his current age – is almost certain to be more prominent this season after his injury-hampered last campaign, and demonstrated why here with a display bristling with poise, confidence and the kind of quick-thinking and close control United found difficult to contain.
By contrast, summer signing Fabio Carvalho – a former team-mate of Elliott coming through the ranks at Fulham – is more of an unknown quantity to Reds supporters. This first glimpse of him in a Liverpool shirt, then, will surely have enthused, operating from a deeper midfield role and only the width of a post away from scoring during one remarkable goalmouth scramble.
The woodwork also denied Mohamed Salah a goal late on, with Darwin Nunez following up to blast over the rebound when it appeared more inviting to score.
The Uruguayan, who could eventually cost a club record £85million from Benfica, was pretty lively in his 30-minute debut cameo, and drew a decent stop from United goalkeeper Tom Heaton with a strong drive. With barely a handful of training sessions under his belt with his new team – and Monday’s cut short by a blister issue – there is much, much more to come.
Another strangely encouraging aspect from Klopp’s point of view is all three of United’s first-half goals were completely avoidable, prompted by the type of defensive blunders that can easily be eradicated.
The first, on 12 minutes, saw 17-year-old right-back Isaac Mabaya fail to properly clear a Bruno Fernandes cross at the far post, with Jadon Sancho driving home the loose ball.
United’s second on the half-hour was a collective mess as Liverpool passed up a number of opportunities to clear the ball, which eventually broke on the edge of the area for Fred to chip cleverly home.
And the third, just three minutes later, came when Rhys Williams, having just been introduced, was robbed by Anthony Martial who raced into the box and finished confidently over Alisson Becker.
Liverpool were rarely in as much trouble after that and, with the majority of their first-team regulars featuring in the final half-hour, finished strongly if without a goal to reward their supporters.
Even United’s fourth on 77 minutes was partially self-inflicted by Liverpool, Ibrahima Konate stepping out of defence but then losing the ball, with United attacking the space he had vacated and Facundo Pellistri scoring in off the post.
The Reds have lost friendlies more heavily than this. Indeed, in 2006, they were thumped 5-0 by Klopp’s Mainz and went on to reach the Champions League final, while three years ago they lost to Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and, in particular, 3-0 to Napoli. They would then to saunter to a first championship in 30 years.
Not the ideal start to pre-season, then. But hardly worth getting too worried about. Singapore and Crystal Palace next.
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