One of football's unwritten rules is that you can't look too much into friendlies. But if you're a Liverpool fan, you'd be forgiven if you ignored that rule, at least for today.
Against a Barcelona side featuring Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the grand Wembley Stadium in London in the International Champions Cup, Liverpool were peerless, cruising to a 4-0 win. The best part for Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp: the highly-regarded Sadio Mane, a £34m summer signing was in top form, scoring a goal and looking razor-sharp on the right.
Mane also played a part in the second goal, swinging in a cross from which Javier Mascherano scored an own goal. Divock Origi and Marko Grujic made it 4-0 in front of a delighted crowd of 89,945 at the Wembley, the second largest attendance at the venue.
A word to the wise: this was a rusty Barcelona team, still preparing for the start of the La Liga which is a fortnight away. Stars like Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta were only introduced later in the game, while Messi hardly had a role to play.
But for what it's worth, Jurgen Klopp will be delighted. A victory over Barcelona, in any format and anywhere, is worth celebrating. The team played with purpose which is a great sign of things to come as the Premier League beckons.
Catch the highlights below.
