MY ACCOUNT
Manchester United concluded their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano while an inexperienced Liverpool side lost 3-0 at home to Strasbourg.
Elsewhere, Leicester overcame Sevilla 1-0 while Leeds thrashed Cagliari 6-2. Other results saw Fulham draw 1-1 with Villarreal and Wolves finish 1-1 with Farense.
With the 2022-23 Premier League season now less than a week away from kicking off, this was a final chance for teams to fine-tune.
Manchester United 1-1 Rayo Vallecano
Erik ten Hag went with a blend of youth and experience as Manchester United completed their pre-season schedule with a 1-1 draw against LaLiga’s Rayo Vallecano.
Cristiano Ronaldo was joined in the starting XI by new signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen.
Youngsters Ethan Laird — set to join Watford on loan — as well as James Garner, Tahith Chong and Alejandro Garnacho also started for the Red Devils.
Half-time substitute Amad Diallo put United in front two minutes into the second half after turning home the rebound from Alex Telles’ effort.
Just nine minutes later, Alvaro Garcia levelled for the Spanish side.
Reflecting on his first pre-season with United, Ten Hag said: “I think we [have had] a good pre-season.
“We make good progress. We are ready for the season. I know there is still room for improvement.
“We have to improve and that is also a process that continues during the season. But, for next week, it’s about the result as well.”
Liverpool 0-3 Strasbourg
A much-changed Liverpool side went down 3-0 at home to Strasbourg 24 hours after beating Manchester City in the Community Shield final.
Experience was provided by Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate and James Miler, whuile Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho were also recognisable names.
Adrien Thomasson put the French side ahead after just four minutes before Habib Diallo added a second 10 minutes later.
The game was effectively over as a contest when Thomasson grabbed his second after just 21 minutes.
Speaking afterward, Jurgen Klopp gave an update on the condition of Naby Keita and Curtis Jones — both of whom missed the game.
He said: “Naby is ill and Curtis felt a little bit and we couldn’t take any risks.
“All of a sudden the team was really young and we play [against] a really strong Strasbourg side.”
Leicester 1-0 Sevilla
James Maddison and Wesley Fofana were both part of the Leicester team that beat Sevilla 1-0 — despite being linked with moves away this weekend.
Attacking midfielder Maddison is reportedly a £50million target for Newcastle while Chelsea are monitoring centre-back Fofana.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the game’s only goal but it was far from plain sailing for the Foxes who saw Harvey Barnes and Ricardo Pereira suffer injuries.
Addressing Pereira’s withdrawal, Rodgers said: “Ricky coming off, it doesn’t look good. We had an awful injury here last year. It doesn’t look good.”
Other games
Fulham 1-1 Villarreal
Leeds 6-2 Cagliari
Farense 1-1 Wolves
