Liverpool beats A-League champions 3-0 before 72,892 fans

Liverpool FC, left, and Sydney FC pause for a minute’s silence before their friendly football match

With retired greats Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher in the lineup, Liverpool beat Sydney FC 3-0 yesterday in a friendly match marked by tightened security following the attack in Manchester.

Daniel Sturridge, Alberto Moreno and Roberto Firmino all scored in the first half of the match at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, which drew a crowd of 72,892 spectators.

Earlier yesterday, New South Wales police said it would enhance its presence at the stadium following the Manchester concert attack which killed 22 people. A minute’s silence was held before the match began.

“We have increased patrols, only on the basis that the community feels safe,” police commissioner Mick Fuller said before the match, without mentioning police numbers. “There is no threat for tonight.”

Of the players who started Liverpool’s final Premier League game against Middlesbrough on Sunday, only three were in the starting lineup against Sydney, the A-League champions. They were Dejan Lovren, Firmino and Sturridge.

Also Included in the starting lineup were the already retired Gerrard and Carragher.

Gerrard, who brought his Anfield career to an end in 2015, and Carragher, who retired in 2013, traveled to Australia as part of a 25-man squad for the game which marked the club’s 125th anniversary. AP