Manchester United is getting ready for another matchup between the heavyweights of the Premier League when they play Liverpool in South Carolina on Saturday. This is their last preseason match.
In their most recent friendly matchups, both English powerhouses prevailed: Arne Slot's team defeated Arsenal, while the Red Devils beat Real Betis in a thrilling five-goal thriller.
After going win-loss-win during the preseason so far, Man United rebounded to their close loss to Arsenal when Real Betis came to the Snapdragon Stadium in California. The first thirty-five minutes of the match were electrifying for the San Diego fans.
Losada,Baca,Rashford,Diallo, and Casemiro scored for the teams during the first half when we did not see a single team defending which was evident by the result of the match and although D. Llorente created some tension for the last twenty five to thirty minutes the Red Devils went to the break with a shut up and although the friendly reception was not interesting as I expected the second friendly win of the summer for the Red
But the friendly soufflé dragged in at San Diego only served to rub the salt into the wound of Man United’s cruel round of pre-season injuries, worse still they were informed that new acquisition Leny Yoro will likely spend next to three months of the year in the sick bay with the foot injury that saw him off in the Arsenal loss.
Both Rashford, Antony and Rasmus Hojlund are also on the sideline, as the long list of the battle of the injury woe continues to haunt Man United, thereby making partial reproductive change to next weekend’s Community Shield match against Manchester City.
However, the medical team are now working beyond their hours, Erik ten Hag should be able to look at the side’s stint in the USA with relative pride and the same can be said of his upcoming rival and fellow Eredivisie alumni Arne Slot.
Warming up for a reunion with his compatriot the head trainer of Liverpool ingeniously choreographed a perfect victory that left Arsenal staggering after a 2-1 loss in the Philadelphia heat in the evening session Today young Harvey Elliott impressed everybody as the number 10 man.
The former Fulham prodigy gave two splendid assist, first one by beating Mohamed Salah and the second was to Carvalho by chipping a nice ball over the Arsenal defence and a Havertz reply was the exact response Arsenal needed just to make the score a bit respectably.
Liverpool did not threat much in the second half in the attacking front, however Arsenal controlled majority of the ball at the half, but could not get many shots on the Liverpool goal as Slot’s build up ensured the Reds achieve their second pre-season victory.
Liverpool, who also boast a one-goal victory over Real Betis during their transatlantic trip, only have one exhibition match left in their schedule after their USA tour concludes: Sevilla's visit to Anfield on August 11. However, negotiations are still underway to set up another match against Las Palmas due to concerns about senior players' lack of friendly minutes.
But Liverpool's top objective right now is making up for last season's mistakes, as they lost all three of their matches against Man United in 2023–24, whereas Slot and Ten Hag both had two victories over each other from their tenures in the AZ Alkmaar and Ajax dugouts, respectively.
As previously reported, even before the new Premier League season officially begins, the Man United infirmary is already full; Yoro's metatarsal fracture may keep him out until November, while Hojlund's six-week recuperation from his hamstring injury against Arsenal will need him to miss time.
Rashford and Antony, the forward tandem that played against Betis on Wednesday, also seemed worn out by the game; the latter was substituted for Diallo in the second half but managed to play only 24 minutes before he went down with an injury.
The good news for Hannibal Mejbri and Mason Mount's chances of making the starting lineup for Saturday's match is that Rashford and Antony's issues should help them, while Andre Onana and Jonny Evans are strong contenders to bolster the defense as well.
In sharp contrast, Slot was happy to inform that none of his Liverpool players encountered any difficulties after their victory over Arsenal, even though Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate were both rested after their impressive performances at Euro 2024.
Barring any last-minute worries, the Reds coach has announced that the French defender and the Dutch midfielder should both play their first minutes of preseason. Diogo Jota also played the full 45 minutes in the team's victory over the Gunners.
Although left-back Andrew Robertson is still under the care of the medical staff and will not play against the Red Devils, Curtis Jones was well enough to make an appearance in the first half of the midweek match.
