Pulisic powers Dortmund past Liverpool
CHARLOTTE: US international Christian Pulisic scored two second-half goals to lift Borussia Dortmund to a 3-1 win over Liverpool in an International Champions Cup friendly in North Carolina on Sunday.
Pulisic almost completed a hat-trick in the 93rd minute but his blast was stopped and the rebound went to teammate Jacob Bruun Larsen who deposited it into the empty net as Dortmund improved to 2-0 in the 18-team pre-season tournament.
With Mohamed Salah, Pedro Chirivella, Georginio Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane and Marko Grujic sitting out, it was an inexperienced Liverpool side that took to the field at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 25th minute with a perfectly timed leaping header off a long cross from Andrew Robertson.
Pulisic tied it 1-1 in the 66th minute on a penalty conversion, hammering his attempt straight down the middle of the net.
Pulisic scored again in the 89th minute by finishing off a nice passing play with teammate Marcel Schmelzer with a low shot to the near post.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s new goalkeeper Alisson is “desperate” to play for the Merseyside club and could make his debut against Serie A side Napoli in a preseason match on Aug 4, manager Juergen Klopp said.
Liverpool signed Brazil international Alisson from AS Roma this month, smashing the world record for a goalkeeper in a deal worth up to €72.5 million.
“He is desperate to play. He could have joined us here in America but it made absolutely no sense,” Klopp told a news conference in Charlotte.
“He had a long year and as Brazil’s No.1, it was quite an intense year, so I sent him on holiday again... I would say he plays in Dublin [against Napoli].”