Pre-Season Roundup: Liverpool Fall to Dortmund, Mason Greenwood Shines for Man Utd & More

The fun of pre-season is well underway. Some teams are already in crisis, others are set for breakout years, and some are even lifting trophies which literally nobody cares about.


Should fans jump to early conclusions about their sides? Absolutely not. Will that stop them from doing so? Not even slightly.


Here's a breakdown of the Premier League sides' pre-season shenanigans from Saturday.


 Arsenal 3-0 Fiorentina

The International Champions Cup is one of the most prestigious pre-season trophies around (even if that's not saying much), and it has been a fantastic start for ​Arsenal.

The Gunners followed up their win over ​Bayern Munich with a dominant 3-0 victory over Fiorentina, with the club's youngsters making the difference. Eddie Nketiah netted twice, before Joe Willock fired home a third to ​leave Arsenal fans feeling thoroughly excited for the upcoming season.

Who needs big transfers when you've got plenty of exciting youngsters?


Girona 2-1 Bournemouth

Diego Rico,Kevin Soni

​Bournemouth's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Girona was truly a tale of two halves. You'll struggle to see a more underwhelming first half anywhere in the world, but the second 45 minutes were far better - for everyone except Bournemouth.

​Jack Simpson's red card left the Cherries battling to hold on, but three goals in six minutes ultimately decided this game. Marc Gual's 82nd-minute opener gave Girona the lead, before Ryan Fraser netted an equaliser just two minutes later.

Juanpe then headed home in the dying embers of the game to hand Bournemouth their first defeat of pre-season.


Brighton 1-2 Fulham

Bernardo,Neeskens Kebano

It was a similarly frustrating outing for ​Brighton and Hove Albion, who surrendered a lead to fall 2-1 to ​Fulham.

Pascal Gross' impressive first-half free-kick gave Brighton the lead, but Fulham were left incensed as they felt Glenn Murray had been stood in an offside position to block their goalkeeper's vision.

Fulham soon got their revenge as Tom Cairney's quick-fire double ensured the Cottagers left Saturday's game in high spirits.​


Port Vale 1-3 Burnley

​Burnley's pre-season tour of the lower leagues of English football is hardly the most exciting summer schedule, but fans were treated to some enthralling action in their 3-1 victory over Port Vale.

​The League Two side took an early lead through Tom Pope, before goals from Chris Wood, Matej Vydra and Robbie Brady gave Burnley a well-deserved victory.

That's now five goals in just three games for Wood, who looks to be in great form heading into the new season.


Cheltenham 1-2 Leicester

​Leicester City's perfect start to pre-season continued on Saturday thanks to a 2-1 victory over Cheltenham Town.

Like Burnley, Leicester gave up an early lead after Luke Varney fired the hosts ahead, and Brendan Rodgers responded by making nine changes at the break, including bringing on ​Jamie Vardy.

The Englishman netted his side's equaliser, combining with Youri Tielemans to undo Cheltenham's defence, before Marc Albrighton added a second soon after.​


Liverpool 2-3 Borussia Dortmund

​Liverpool might have thumped Tranmere Rovers and Bradford City, but they came unstuck against top opposition in ​Borussia Dortmund.

Jurgen Klopp's side fell behind after just three minutes thanks to Paco Alcacer's early strike, before Harry Wilson levelled after 35 minutes. Thomas Delaney added a second for the Bundesliga side after the break, before Jacob Bruun Larsen made it three soon after.

Rhian Brewster continued his impressive summer by netting a penalty late in the half, but Klopp insisted that he had '​learned nothing' from the game. So, a good use of everyone's time.​


Wolves 0-0 Man City (Wolves Win 3-2 on Penalties)

​Manchester City might have won the ​Premier League title last summer, but does it really mean anything if they can't win the Asia Trophy? 

As you would expect, City dominated possession against ​Wolverhampton Wanderers, but could not find a way through. ​Raheem Sterling missed a first half penalty, which was a sign of things to come.

The game went to penalties, where it looked like nobody wanted to score. Four of the first five efforts were either missed or saved, and goalkeeper Rui Patricio was the hero of the day after he saved Lukas Nmecha's effort to seal a 3-2 shootout win.


Manchester United 1-0 Inter

Will Mason Greenwood be the next Ballon d'Or winner? 

The 17-year-old was the star of ​Manchester United's 1-0 victory over ​Inter in the ICC, netting an impressive goal late to prove that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's ​claims that he could start his side's opening league fixture against Chelsea aren't so far-fetched after all.

The Red Devils were good value for their win, and now they will turn their attention to ​Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.


Newcastle 1-0 West Ham

Jonjo Shelvey,Felipe Anderson

Steve Bruce was unable to lead ​Newcastle United on Saturday, but evidently he is already working wonders on the Magpies as they picked up a 1-0 win over ​West Ham United in Shanghai.

Bruce, watching in the stands as a result of visa complications, ​saw his new side impress throughout, and Yoshinori Muto's first half strike was enough to see off the Hammers.

Sean Longstaff also made his return from injury, whilst younger brother Matthew also came off the bench. Expect a £100m bid from Manchester United for both in the near future. 


Preston 1-3 Southampton

​Southampton picked up their first win of pre-season with a comfortable 3-1 victory over ​Preston North End at Deepdale.

The Saints opened the scoring in hilarious fashion, with Preston goalkeeper Connor Ripley's clearance deflecting high off ​Danny Ings, before the ball dropped over Ripley's head and into the back of the net. Billy Bonds soon equalised, but Ings restored Southampton's lead shortly before the break.

Jake Voskins' impressive late goal was enough to guarantee victory for Ralph Hasenhuttl, who switched between a number of formations to give his side the all-important edge. ​


Northampton Town 0-2 Sheffield United

Premier League newcomers ​Sheffield​ United needed two penalties to see off Northampton Town in a game which often left a lot to be desired for fans.

New signings Callum Robinson and Phil Jagielka both started the game, but it was Ollie Norwood who stole the headlines by netting two first half penalties to guide the Blades to victory.

The massive number of substitutions left this game feeling a bit stop-start at times, but that's part of the fun of pre-season.


Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Watford

​Watford are not messing about with their pre-season schedule, taking on both Ajax and Bayer Leverkusen to kick-start their preparations. They may have fallen to the ​Champions League semi-finalists, but they finally got on the winning side on Saturday.

Both sides were impressive defensively, but Will Hughes managed to make a breakthrough shortly before half-time, whilst Andre Gray came off the bench to add a second after the break.

Moussa Diaby pulled one back for the hosts, and the ​Bundesliga side dominated proceedings towards the end. Fortunately, Javi Gracia's men hung on well and picked up the win.


Source : 90min