Bringing in an almost fully fit squad, Liverpool FC won the Premier League Asia Trophy against Leicester City today. The star new signing in Mohamed Salah made his impact with a brilliant bit of play combining with Philippe Coutinho to score the equaliser after Islam Slimani had given Leicester the lead with a well-worked goal. Philippe Coutinho then produced a moment of magic to beat Kasper Schmeichel and put Liverpool ahead just before the end of the first half, in what turned out to be the decisive goal of the game.
Liverpool travels to Germany next to face off against Hertha Berlin, before competing in the Audi Cup where a big challenge awaits them in the shape of Bayern Munich.
Testing conditions
The biggest test faced by teams in the PL Asia trophy had been adjusting to the change in climate with high humidity levels. The conditions in Hong Kong were unusual for the footballers used to playing primarily in western Europe, to a point where drink breaks had to be introduced in between every half to help the players recuperate and not drain out of energy.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp in his postgame interview mentioned that the tour was an extraordinary experience for Liverpool and that his team will strive forward to better fitness and remove any defensive weakness before the start of the new season against Watford in three weeks.
The tour has also been a good outing for new Liverpool signings Mohamed Salah and Dominic Solanke, both managed to score goals during the course of the competition and stake their claim for the starting eleven as the start of the Premier League season approaches.
For Leicester fans, the form of Kasper Schmeichel and Riyad Mahrez, while the intensity of the entire team in the humid conditions must be good indicators that the team is getting into fine physical and tactical shape.
Other results
Bayern Munich was thrashed by AC Milan 0-4 in the International Champions Cup in China with 19-year-old Italian Patrick Cutrone scoring twice for the team from Milan.
While in another friendly fixture between two of the title contenders for the forthcoming Premier League season, Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-0 thanks to two goals from Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi. While later today, in the International Champions Cup, Paris SG are in action against Tottenham and FC Barcelona face Juventus.
While the somewhat relaxed nature of the friendly games is still obvious, clubs have not been shy in utilising their star players and trying out new formations and tactics.
And with a lot of big money transfer rumours still flying about, and the start of the Premier League season close by, these friendly fixtures are becoming more and more vital to determine which team and which players have the potential to take the new season by storm.
