Sunday, July 13

Arne Slot's Liverpool started their preseason with a 3-1 win over Preston North End at Deepdale on Sunday afternoon as they remembered Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva.

Liverpool got their preseason schedule off to a strong start by beating Preston North End 3-1 in a friendly at Deepdale on Sunday afternoon.

The game was slow to start, but Arne Slot's side put together some intricate passages of play, and looked especially dangerous when 17-year-old left-winger Rio Ngumoha was able to get on the ball.

With a little over half an hour gone, the visitors found a breakthrough courtesy of right-back Conor Bradley, after some fine dribbling from Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa.

Preston came close to equalising through Andrew Hughes just before the interval following a long throw, but the Lilywhites' man scuffed his header onto the top of the net.

Slot made wholesale changes at the break, and as part of the second-half XI, Darwin Nunez doubled the lead for Liverpool when he made the most of a misplaced backpass from Preston, taking the ball around the goalkeeper before firing into an open goal.

The hosts then pulled one back through centre-half Liam Lindsay, whose powerful header from a Jeppe Okkels corner could have created a tense final few moments if not for Cody Gakpo restoring the Reds' two-goal advantage on the 88-minute mark.

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SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

Paul Heckingbottom's Preston struggled at the end of their Championship campaign, failing to win their last eight league games and earning just one point from their final five.

However, the Lilywhites gave a good account of themselves against the Premier League champions, and despite losing 3-1, they produced some promising moments, with Canadian striker Daniel Jebbison in particular posing a serious threat.

As for Liverpool, they were in action for the first time since the passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, and while the win and performance will give Slot plenty to think about, the result was more of a secondary focus for fans.

Reds supporters got a first glimpse of Mamardashvili between the sticks, and saw a second-half from Frimpong, Kerkez and Woodman, but they will have to wait to catch star signing Florian Wirtz in a future clash.

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PRESTON NORTH END VS. LIVERPOOL HIGHLIGHTS

33rd min: Preston North End 0-1 Liverpool (Conor Bradley)

Ngumoha looks bright once again with a dribble into the Preston box, and while he is unable to find the goal himself, the ball finds its way to Chiesa, who makes his way past a number of defenders before crossing to Dominik Szoboszlai, and the Hungarian's effort is converted by Bradley at the back post.

53rd min: Preston North End 0-2 Liverpool (Darwin Nunez)

Nunez takes advantage of a sloppy backpass from the Lilywhites, baiting goalkeeper Daniel Iversen into coming close before dribbling past him and slotting into an empty net.

The striker pays tribute to Jota by recreating his celebrations in front of the travelling supporters.

83rd min: Preston North End 1-2 Liverpool (Liam Lindsay)

Okkels curls an outswinging corner from the right-hand side into the Liverpool box, and centre-back Lindsay meets the ball with a powerful header eight yards out to get Preston back into the game and set up a tense finish.

88th min: Preston North End 1-3 Liverpool (Cody Gakpo)

Ben Doak recovers possession on the right wing before firing a low cross towards Nunez, but the Uruguayan striker pulls off a clever feint, letting the ball roll through his legs to Gakpo, who places his strike into the bottom-right corner.

The Dutch forward holds up the number 20 to the crowd during his celebration.

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MAN OF THE MATCH - RIO NGUMOHA

The 16-year-old winger was brought in from Chelsea last season with a reputation as one of the best young talents in English football, and he showed his class once again against senior opposition.

Despite only being a friendly, Ngumoha was undoubtedly the most threatening player on the pitch in both halves, and it will be interesting to see how he develops over the campaign.

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PRESTON NORTH END VS. LIVERPOOL MATCH STATS

Possession: Preston North End 35%-65% Liverpool

Shots: Preston North End 9-15 Liverpool

Shots on target: Preston North End 2-6 Liverpool

Corners: Preston North End 7-3 Liverpool

Fouls: Preston North End 6-10 Liverpool

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WHAT NEXT?

Up next for Preston is a trip to Spain to face Getafe on July 18, while Liverpool will be the nominal home side when they take on AC Milan at Kai Tak Sports Park on July 26.

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