Mighty Reds thump Thailand!

Liverpool extended their 100 per cent pre-season record with a convincing 3-0 win over Thailand. A superb solo effort from Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring at the Rajamangala National Stadium, before Iago Aspas and Steven Gerrard also got on the scoresheet in the second period. As a result, Brendan Rodgers side have now scored 11 goals in their four pre-season outings, and have yet to concede a goal. The Northern Irishman named a strong team ahead of the meeting with the Thai national team, though wantaway striker Luis Suarez was forced to start on the bench due to a lack of match fitness. It did not take long for Coutinho to emphasise the gulf in class between the teams, however, as he brilliantly evaded three challenges before side-footing home to give Liverpool the lead. An impressive stop from the visitors' new first-choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was the sum total of the action in the remainder of the first half, but Aspas needed only four minutes after the break to get his goal. The Spaniard produced a neat turn to take Coutinho's slide-rule pass into his stride and finished well with his next touch as the goalkeeper failed to get down in time. Fabio Borini had a reasonable penalty claim turned down just five minutes later, but it would matter little as Gerrard chipped delightfully over the keeper to score at the end of the next attack. Suarez was introduced in place of Borini in the immediate aftermath of that goal and moments later headed onto the bar from a free-kick swung into the box. Club captain Gerrard saw another audacious chipped effort meet the same fate with two minutes remaining, but Liverpool failed to add to their impressive pre-season tally before the final whistle.