Liverpool Still a Work in Progress, Slot Says, despite Perfect Pre-Season Tour

Liverpool's Japanese midfielder #03 Wataru Endo vies for the ball during the pre-season club friendly football match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, August 3, 2024. (AFP)
Liverpool's Japanese midfielder #03 Wataru Endo vies for the ball during the pre-season club friendly football match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, August 3, 2024. (AFP)
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Liverpool Still a Work in Progress, Slot Says, despite Perfect Pre-Season Tour

Liverpool's Japanese midfielder #03 Wataru Endo vies for the ball during the pre-season club friendly football match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, August 3, 2024. (AFP)
Liverpool's Japanese midfielder #03 Wataru Endo vies for the ball during the pre-season club friendly football match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, August 3, 2024. (AFP)

New Liverpool manager Arne Slot said his side still have room for improvement despite wrapping up their pre-season tour of the United States with a 3-0 win over Manchester United in South Carolina on Saturday.

Slot, who replaced Juergen Klopp in May, also guided Liverpool to wins over Arsenal and Real Betis. They face Sevilla next at Anfield before visiting promoted Ipswich Town for their Premier League opener on Aug. 17.

Asked if he was pleased with his side's performances so far, the Dutchman said: "Yes, I was but not with all of them. We are very happy with the result, we scored some really nice goals ... very positive tour.

"But I don't think we had enough control over the game, I think we gave away too many chances. United deserved more than a 3-0 loss but it's also our quality that we do score our own chances.

"We will see how players (returning from holidays) fit into the team. We need to work hard in the upcoming two weeks to be ready."



Bayern Munich's Hiroki Itō Suffers Recurrence of Foot Injury

Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
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Bayern Munich's Hiroki Itō Suffers Recurrence of Foot Injury

Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)

Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Itō is out indefinitely with another serious foot injury, adding to the team’s defensive woes ahead of its Champions League quarterfinal against Inter Milan.
The Bavarian powerhouse said Sunday that Itō suffered a recurrence of a fracture in his right metatarsal during Bayern’s 3-2 win over St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday, The Associated Press reported. Itō had gone on as a substitute and was unable to finish the game, leaving Bayern, which had used all of its substitutes, a player short for the final minutes.
Itō, who joined Bayern from league rival Stuttgart before the season, first suffered the injury in a pre-season warmup game against Düren. There was a setback during his comeback in November, necessitating another operation. The Japan defender finally made his comeback in February, playing in six Bundesliga games and two Champions League matches.
“He’s only just battled back after months of rehab and will now be out for a long time again – we can barely imagine how he’s feeling,” board member for sport Max Eberl said. “He’ll get all the support he needs from us.”
Last week, Bayern had defenders Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano ruled out with knee injuries sustained on international duty.
“We’ve now lost a third defender in a short space of time,” Eberl said. “We will now pool our forces even more to continue pursuing our goals.”
Bayern, which leads the Bundesliga by six points with seven rounds remaining, hosts Inter for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on April 8, with the second leg in Milan on April 16.