Liverpool opens preseason with easy victory over Thai All-Stars
Two goals in each half sent the Reds to a simple victory to kick-start their pre-season, with Lazar Markovic and Mamadou Sakho netting in the first-half, and Adam Lallana and Divock Origi - in his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt - rounding off the scoring in the second period.
With Raheem Sterling's Anfield exit all but confirmed, Brendan Rodgers will have been delighted to see five of his summer signings take to the pitch in Bangkok. Adam Bodgan, Joe Gomez and Danny Ings started the match in the sweltering conditions of the capital city, before Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner made their bows after the break.
It was a signing from last summer's ill-fated spree that broke the deadlock early on however, with Serbia winger Markovic latching onto Joao Teixeira's pass to round the keeper and slot home. With just nine days of training and a 14-hour flight barely behind them, the Reds would have been forgiven for looking off the pace against their hosts, and new keeper Adam Bodgan was almost beaten by a Jakkapan Pornsai free-kick after 20 minutes.
But the class of the Premier League side shone through against their opponents, with Teixeira again the provider as Sakho headed home a corner just before the break. Ings and Rickie Lambert impressed as a front two, with the latter having a goal chalked off and the former Burnley man unlucky not to connect with a cross midway through the first-half, before Rodgers fielded an entirely different side in the second half.
Along with the substitutes came torrential rain, but it didn't put a dampener on new captain Jordan Henderson, who supplied an excellent assist for Adam Lallana's powerful drive just after 50 minutes. Henderson then matched the exploits of team-mate Teixeira, lofting in the cross that saw Belgian forward Origi rise highest to head home after he missed a gilt-edged chance earlier.
