Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane made an instant impact on Wednesday as Liverpool came from behind to beat Premier League champions Manchester City 2-1 in their International Champions Cup match.
Mane stroked home Liverpool’s winner from the penalty spot deep into stoppage-time to give Juergen Klopp’s men a morale-boosting victory over an understrength City team at the MetLife Stadium.
Klopp praised Mane’s performance after coming on in the second half.
“The second half pleased me, first half, not so much,” Klopp said.
“You saw the difference when Sadio came on. He played balls in behind and made life difficult,” he said. “With this and all the other changes, it changed the game.”
Both Klopp and City boss Pep Guardiola were unimpressed with the makeshift playing surface in a venue used by the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.
“Better to throw the ball than pass it in this arena,” Klopp said.
Guardiola said he was relieved no players were injured.
“This happened in my first season with Barcelona and I was so angry, so upset,” Guardiola said, when asked about the pitch. “I grew up and am a more mature guy. I look to the other side. It is business. We pray before the game that there would be no injuries and that’s what happened.”
Both teams’ pre-season preparations in the US have been disrupted by the absence of several key players who starred in the FIFA World Cup.
However, Guardiola sounded a positive note about the absentees.
“I learned that when I was little boy in Barcelona in the academy. Don’t find excuses,” Guardiola said.
“We are happy as a club to have 16 players out and the most with their national teams, that’s a good sign for the club,” he said. “In the past it didn’t happen, years ago, and that is good for our future, but we are going to adapt. It’s as simple as that.”
Salah and Mane both reported for duty for Liverpool in time for Wednesday’s game.
Nonetheless, it was City who took the lead just after halftime, when German international Leroy Sane caught Liverpool’s defense napping and burst clear to slot past Caoimhin Kelleher on 57 minutes.
However, Egypt star Salah was quick to make his mark after coming on for Curtis Jones in the 62nd minute, scoring a header with virtually his first touch of the game to level it at 1-1.
The game appeared to be heading for a draw until Tosin Adarabioyo crashed into Dominic Solanke in the area for a penalty.
Mane stepped up to give Klopp’s team the win.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
RSS