Liverpool and Tottenham secured victories in their first games of pre-season ahead of the Premier League season.
Andoni Iraola’s first match in charge of Liverpool ended in a 4-2 win over Sunderland in the USA, with Spurs getting the better of Auckland in a 2-0 victory at Eden Park, New Zealand.
Elsewhere, Leeds were beaten 3-2 by Championship side Wrexham in their first game of pre-season.
Liverpool vs Sunderland: Reds win Iraola’s first game
Liverpool made an impressive start to life under Iraola but an injury to Joe Gomez overshadowed their 4-2 win over Sunderland in Nashville.
Defender Gomez, who was captain, went down and was taken off after just eight minutes in a less-than ideal start, but goals from Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas ensured they were celebrating a victory at the end of the 90 minutes.
Enzo le Fee and Timur Tutiero were on target for the Black Cats, although the pick of the goals undoubtedly game from a trademark strike outside by the box by Szoboszlai, with Morrison’s opener to finish off a slick team move also encouraging for the Reds.
Auckland vs Tottenham: Richarlison on target for Spurs
Matheus Fernandes was the only one of Tottenham’s new summer signings to feature in a 2-0 win over Auckland in New Zealand.
Dane Scarlett took his opportunity for a start by Roberto De Zerbi to open the scoring in the first half, before Richarlison doubled the advantage later in the game when Spurs’ more experienced heads, including Fernandes, entered the fray.
Sandro Tonali, who joined Tottenham in a £100m deal from Newcastle United, missed out with “one small problem”, while defenders Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi also didn’t figure.
Leeds vs Wrexham: Wilson makes Whites debut
Harry Wilson played his first game at Leeds as they fell to a 3-2 defeat by Championship side Wrexham.
Kieffer Moore opened the scoring for the Dragons in Florida, before Joel Piroe equalised, making amends for a missed penalty earlier in the game. Bailey Cadamarteri and Sean Longstaff were then both on target before Sam Smith scored the winner in the second half.
Wilson, a free signing from Fulham, was brought on for the second half and went close to equalising late on but his shot went over the bar.
When does the 2026/27 Premier League season start?
The campaign starts on the weekend of Friday, August 21. You can see the full list of Premier League fixtures in August and September and TV schedule.
