Liverpool FC fans laud Sadio Mane as Reds thrash FC Barcelona 4-0 at Wembley [Best Tweets]

Liverpool emerged as shock 4-0 winners over Barcelona in their penultimate pre-season friendly at Wembley. New signing Sadio Mane starred as Klopp’s side overcame the Catalan giants ahead of next week’s Premier League opener against Arsenal.

 

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool thrashed Barcelona by a convincing 4-0 scoreline in their final International Champions’ Cup encounter at Wembley. It was a stunning display of the German’s popular ‘heavy-metal football’ as the Blaugrana struggled to cope with the Reds’ intensity on the evening. The loss will also come as a wake-up call for Luis Enrique as his side looked rusty when presented with a stern opponent in Liverpool.

Liverpool left Daniel Sturridge out of the squad as the England striker is reportedly recovering from a hip injury ahead of the next week’s season opener against Arsenal. Needless to say, the injury rules out the 26-year-old from the Reds’ final friendly against FSV Mainz on Sunday.

Liverpool had no intention of taking the game lightly as they attacked Barcelona straight off the blocks on a feisty evening at Wembley, where a sold-out crowd in excess of 89,000 was in attendance.

The man instrumental in giving the Reds an edge in attack was new signing Sadio Mane, whose blistering pace and trickery on the ball caused all sorts of problems early on for the Catalan back-line. The former Southampton man was rewarded for his spectacular start with a goal in the 15th minute, when a counter-attack initiated by Adam Lallana’s interception at the centre of the park culminated in Mane smashing the ball into the back of Ter Stegen’s net. Needless to say, social media erupted after the Reds’ shock lead against the La Liga champions.

Barcelona did respond well and threatened to wipe out Liverpool’s lead on at least three occasions, but Simon Mignolet, along with centre-halves Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan, made life hard for Barcelona’s attackers.

The two sides went into half-time with Liverpool having their noses in front. Klopp made three changes at the break, bringing on Origi, Henderson and Stewart for Wijnaldum, Lallana and Coutinho. Liverpool found themselves 3-0 up just minutes into the second half, thanks to an own-goal from Javier Mascherano and a well taken goal from half-time substitute Divock Origi. The blitzkrieg sent Liverpool fans into delirium, while the rest of the footballing world could scarcely believe what was unfolding at Wembley.

The chances kept coming for both sides, but there were no changes to the scoreline until the second minute of stoppage time, when substitute Marko Grujic scored an outrageous looping header off a cross from Lazar Markovic to make it 4-0 to the Reds on the evening.

It’s not everyday you see your side beat a team of the stature of Barcelona by a convincing 4-0 scoreline and the Liverpool players enjoyed the moment, expressing their joy on social media.

There was a nice touch after the game from Luis Suarez as well, with the Uruguayan congratulating his former side on Instagram and acknowledging the warmth and support he received from the Liverpool supporters.

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