|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Liverpool blew a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 4-2 to Leeds United at Soldier Field in Chicago, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring twice as a substitute to complete a stunning second-half fightback. Meanwhile in Seoul, Enzo Maresca won his first game as Manchester City manager with a 3-1 victory over the K-League All Stars — Ait-Nouri, Reijnders and Mubama all scoring in an opening 23-minute burst.
In Chicago, Liverpool held a two-goal lead at half-time and lost. In Seoul, Manchester City’s new manager got his first win in 36-degree heat. Both results carry information heading into the 2026-27 season — one alarming, one encouraging.
Liverpool 2–4 Leeds United — Soldier Field, Chicago (August 2)
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool had beaten Rangers, Wrexham and Sunderland without conceding in their American tour. At Soldier Field, with Florian Wirtz finally getting his first pre-season minutes in a Liverpool shirt, the expectation was that the tour would end on a high.
Liverpool made the perfect start. Milos Kerkez’s corner caused havoc seven minutes in and Luke Chambers — playing as a makeshift centre-back — bundled home from close range. Leeds responded well through Lukas Nmecha without finding the net, before Liverpool extended their lead five minutes before half-time through their most anticipated summer arrival. Trey Nyoni and Jeremie Frimpong combined to release Wirtz, whose finish was composed and assured — his first goal in a Liverpool shirt. Liverpool went in 2-0 up, seemingly in full control.
ALSO READ: Mohamed Salah joins Trabzonspor on a record €17m-per-year deal
Daniel Farke had other ideas. He introduced Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Harry Wilson, Sean Longstaff and Brenden Aaronson at half-time — four changes that transformed the contest so completely that the next 45 minutes barely resembled the first.
Ethan Ampadu found Aaronson in space on the hour mark and the American slotted low past Mamardashvili. Three goals then arrived in 13 minutes: Calvert-Lewin fired his first on 72 minutes, Longstaff made it three on 73, and Calvert-Lewin powered a header home in the 85th minute after Bornauw glanced on Ampadu’s throw-in. Leeds had scored four without reply. Liverpool’s perfect American tour was over.
Iraola was measured afterwards, pointing to the makeshift centre-back pairing, absent players through injury and the context of facing a physically ready Championship side. The points are valid. The manner of the collapse — four goals in 25 minutes — will still demand attention before the Premier League season begins on August 21.
Goals: Chambers 7′, Wirtz 40′ | Aaronson 60′, Calvert-Lewin 72′ & 85′, Longstaff 73′
Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago | Date: August 2
K-League All Stars 1–3 Manchester City — Seoul World Cup Stadium (August 5)
Thirty-six degrees. High humidity. A sold-out Seoul World Cup Stadium. Enzo Maresca’s first game as Manchester City manager was played in conditions that would test any squad — and his side were sharp, direct and assured, at least in the first half.
City pressed aggressively from the whistle. Nine minutes in, Tijjani Reijnders burst down the right and delivered a cross that fell for Rayan Ait-Nouri, who kept his composure to guide the loose ball home. The K-League All Stars levelled almost immediately — Kim Dae-Won collecting on the edge of the area and rifling an unstoppable effort past Donnarumma.
Reijnders then restored the lead after a clever Semenyo backheel found him in space, and his finish was clinical. Divin Mubama added a third before the half-hour, following up a parried effort to chip over the goalkeeper. All four goals had arrived inside 23 minutes.
READ MORE: Arsenal agree £80m deal for Bruno Guimarães
The second half, with 22 substitutions across both teams, was quieter. City were comfortable throughout — bouncing back from Saturday’s penalty shoot-out loss to Inter Milan and giving Maresca his first three points.
“For us the result is always important, even if it is a friendly — but the most important thing is to see the effort of the players, especially in this weather,” Maresca said. Nico González added: “It was so hot. I don’t think I’ve ever played in these conditions.”
City face Atletico Madrid in Seoul on August 9, then the Community Shield against Arsenal on August 16.
Goals: Ait-Nouri 9′, Reijnders 13′, Mubama 23′ | Kim Dae-Won 11′
Venue: Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul | Date: August 5
